On 2 June 2026, Environment Commissioner Jessika Roswall, addressing the Swedish Forest Industries Federation in Brussels, called for an urgent scale-up of Europe's bioeconomy to replace imported fossil-based materials, citing geopolitical shocks and supply-chain disruptions. She announced that the Commission will launch a call for interest in October to join the Bio-based Europe Alliance, aiming to mobilise EUR 10 billion in collective purchasing of bio-based materials by 2030.
Roswall framed the bioeconomy as a strategic response to Europe's vulnerability to external dependencies, pointing to the pandemic, Russia's war in Ukraine, and instability in the Strait of Hormuz. 'Fossil energy prices are skyrocketing. Supply chains are disrupted,' she said, noting that kerosene, naphtha and fertilisers are among the inputs affected. Bio-based alternatives such as sustainable aviation fuel, bio-naphtha for chemicals and bio-based fertilisers are 'available here and now,' she argued.
The speech contained several concrete proposals. Roswall confirmed that work is advancing on a Biotech Act II, which will remove market barriers, simplify rules, create lead markets for bio-based products and support first-of-a-kind industrial projects. She also announced the recent launch of a European Bioeconomy Investment Deployment Group with national promotional banks. These initiatives build on the Strategic Framework for a Competitive and Sustainable EU Bioeconomy adopted by the Commission in 2025.
Roswall addressed the tension between forest use and environmental protection. She stressed that 'without healthy forests, there is no sustainable bioeconomy' and pledged to help Member States implement the Nature Restoration Regulation in a way that strengthens resilience, boosts innovation and creates new business models. 'The challenge is not to choose between competitiveness and sustainability,' she said. 'The challenge is to make them reinforce each other.'
Policy orientation and stakeholder impacts Roswall's speech pushes EU policy decisively toward expanding the bioeconomy as a substitute for fossil-based inputs, with a strong emphasis on industrial scale-up and market creation. The approach is broadly pro-business, aiming to mobilise private demand and investment rather than imposing mandates. Key impacts include: - EU bio-based industries: major positive impact from the EUR 10 billion purchasing alliance and simplified rules under Biotech Act II, which could create a stable demand signal for producers of bio-based materials. - EU chemical and aviation sectors: positive impact from access to alternative feedstocks (bio-naphtha, sustainable aviation fuel), reducing exposure to volatile fossil-fuel markets. - EU forest owners and managers: mixed impact — opportunities from new bioeconomy markets, but also obligations under the Nature Restoration Regulation, which Roswall promised to implement in a business-friendly way. - EU environmental NGOs: likely negative impact if the emphasis on scaling up forest-based bioeconomy is seen as prioritising industrial use over biodiversity protection, though Roswall stressed the need for healthy ecosystems.
65 — a significant policy speech with concrete targets and new institutional initiatives, but largely reaffirming existing strategy rather than announcing a paradigm shift.