PARIS, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Europe's ailing steel sector needs to be better protected from cheap imports as current measures are insufficient, French industry minister Marc Ferracci said on Thursday.

European steel producers are struggling to cope with depressed demand and an influx of cheap imports from Asia where vast Chinese overcapacity has flooded the markets, leading producers to look to Europe to offload their products.

"The European industry and the steel sector need protection, which in the short term means beefing up safeguard measures," said Ferracci at a meeting with counterparts from seven EU countries on the steel industry in Paris.

Stressing that the European steel industry was in a "difficult situation" in the face of heavily subsidised imports from China and looming U.S. tariffs, he said: "If we do not take strong measures, plants will close down."

The European Commission is investigating whether to tighten its current system of quotas on steel imports to protect EU producers from new tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump plans to impose on incoming steel and aluminium on March 12.

Ferracci said EU safeguard measures put in place since 2018 and due to expire in 2026 in line with WTO rules were no longer adapted to the reality of the global steel market, where excess production capacity is set to reach three and half times demand by next year.

A joint statement from the ministers said in the short term they were in favour of revising quotas in line with actual demand and further out the called for safeguards to be extended after a new investigation or for a new mechanism.

"Whatever the legal nature of the tool, these issues will have to be addressed by tariff levels adapted to the overcapacity level of each third country, and by quota levels adapted to EU demand," said the statement backed by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Romania, Slovakia and Spain.