Government of Finland

Policy topics Government of Finland is active on

What Government of Finland has said (80)

• 2026-07-14 “Thank you, Thomas, and thank you, Marileena, for your excellent work. Just a few comments. 1st of all, we certainly agree with the presidency that competitiveness, security and values must remain at the center of our work. For example, we must strengthen our resilience to Russia's hybrid attacks in all domains. Continuing support for Ukraine is of key importance, we must adopt the 21st sanctions package without further delay. Supporting Ukraine's energy and defense sectors, especially air defense, is crucial. As to enlargement, the opening of cluster 6 with Ukraine and Moldova is a good start for the presidency. The remaining cluster should be opened without delay in line with the commission's recommendation. We also welcome the progress with Montenegro and Albania. We also need a timely agreement on a modern and future proof MFF that matches with EU's key priorities such as competitiveness and defense. However, as we have said many times before, the overall volume of the MFF needs to be lower. So a lot of work still needs to be done in the upcoming months, we look forward to work with the Irish presidency to move this file forward. It will be a busy 6 months, and we wish you all luck and success. Thank you.”
  EU-Russia relations (from March 2022) · EU-Ukraine relations · EU enlargement
• 2026-07-13 “The bioeconomy declaration from the Visegrad Group. It is important to Finland that the EU's research and innovation programme have a strong bioeconomy and agriculture component, and that the selection of projects and partnerships be based on high quality performance. I urge the presidency to strongly defend the Council's position on the bio economy and agriculture in the upcoming interinstitutional negotiations. With regard to the promotion of agricultural products. We too are concerned about the proposed budget cuts. In particular, the proposed cut to programs jointly undertaken by several member states is significantly large. I hope that the Commission will reconsider this matter and strive to secure funding for this important purpose. Thank you chair.”
  Agricultural funding
• 2026-06-29 “Thank you, dear chair, executive vice president, ministers, colleagues. Um, thank you for the presidency for bringing this topic onto the agenda. We all know that housing markets differ across Europe, and not all member states experience the same challenges. Therefore, I would like to underline the principle of subsidiarity subsidiarity on this issue. Um, I would like to, however, share a few practices that we have in the Finnish housing sector. Finland experiences much less housing shortage than most European countries. In fact, at the moment we have an oversupply of housing, which is why prices and rents have fallen in recent years. Stagnant housing markets might also prevent people from relocating to find better employment opportunities. So we have that as well. In Finland, most middle income earners secured their housing through the normal market. This is also the government's goal when needed. Households can receive benefits helping them cover their housing costs. Housing allowance is one key for keeping housing costs affordable. And then, when it comes to supporting student housing, Finland has had policies in place for a long time. The subsidizing model for student housing was developed as early as the 1960s. We saw this as a young nation, a way to make higher education accessible for all student housing foundations, developed state subsidized social housing in university towns, and the municipalities ensure the availability of plots. There are tens of thousands of state subsidized affordable student apartments, and new units are built each year. In Finland, a recent system. Upgrades also make buying a first home easier. Now, all home buyers with mortgages can receive a partial government guarantee to secure their mortgage. So thank you for the opportunity to share our national experience on this topic.”
  EU policy on urban development
• 2026-06-29 “Thank you. Chair. Dear Executive Vice President, ministers, colleagues, firstly, I would like to congratulate also the presidency on reaching an agreement regarding the revision of the Social Security coordination rules. It is something that we've all been waiting for. As we heard already, Finland sees the modernizing of the Social Security coordination rules as an important contribution towards clearer and more up to date legislation. Smooth free movement of labour is a key. Legend in. In a well-functioning single market. It is also one of our key promises to the citizens of the EU. We need to work towards a fully integrated European labour market. This could be done by improving administrative cooperation and information exchange. As a next step, we support swiftly updating the annexes of the Social Security Coordination Regulations. Further, we think that reviewing the rules on Social Security coordination in the light of modern work life is necessary. As the president already pointed out, work life has really changed in the past ten years. The current rules were designed for a different time and do not meet today's needs. The working patterns have changed and new needs such as cross-border telework have emerged. Thus, concrete measures are needed to modernize the existing rules and to strengthen the single market. This aspect was also emphasized in the latter report. We are also looking forward to the upcoming initiatives regarding digitalization, which can help ensure smooth implementation of the Social Security coordination rules and prevent fraud and error. Digitalization can also contribute to reducing administrative burden and improving the competitiveness of the European economy. Thank you.”
  Regulation of teleworking labour conditions
• 2026-06-29 “Dear chair, dear executive vice president, ministers, colleagues for the working age population, we believe that employment is always the most effective way to reduce poverty. This requires efforts to promote employment and inclusive labour markets. Work should always be the primary option for inclusion. Parents employment plays a crucial role in reducing child poverty. The root causes of child poverty are often linked to parents weak position in the labour market. In addition, targeted measures at key transition points are effective in breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. One example is the transition from education to working life. Our education systems must be inclusive in this sense. I would also like to emphasise the importance of job quality. Adequate wages, stable employment conditions and safe working environments are essential elements in preventing and reducing poverty. Human and social capital is crucial for a resilient and competitive society. Our whole of society approach to crisis preparedness and resilience considers all facets of society. For us, reducing poverty and exclusion are key contributors to internal security. Also, at the EU level, effective and integrated measures for addressing poverty must be provided across all policy fields, including education, health and social services and employment. This is also effective in addressing non take up of benefits and services. Furthermore, I believe it is essential to pay attention to the gender dimensions of poverty. For example, single parent households are more likely to be low income. And we know that the vast majority of single parents are women. Well-functioning affordable care services are important elements in improving women's labor market position and reducing poverty. Thank you.”
  Child poverty policy
• 2026-06-26 “26:50 - 10:27:51): Thank you, dear chair, commissioner, administrators, and colleagues. We support the speeding up of permitting procedures, which play a key role in enabling faster, clean transition. We can support the general approach. It is important that national specificities are duly taken into account by leaving sufficient flexibility for member states to develop and streamline permit and approval procedures. We have actually just passed our own legislation, and it is now working with a 1 stop shop, for companies, for environmental permitting. We consider the proposals concerning basic approval process procedures, changes in land use designation or status through planning, and the sharing of benefits with nearby residents and communities to be important. I would like to thank the presidency for its excellent work in handling and preparing these proposals. Thank you. Thank you. So Croatia, Slovenia, and Danitly.”
  EU policy on permitting for renewable energy projects
• 2026-06-26 “57:23 - 10:59:15): Thank you, Michael. I also want to thank with the thank yous to the presidency and the member states as well as the commission for the support on the pressing matter of security and resilience of the energy infrastructure. We can support the council general approach. We welcome the proposed text on central scenario and underline the importance of recognizing the technologically neutrality and the diversity of the member states with their right to self decide on the energy mixes. We also welcome the proposed compromise on congestion incomes and want to note the importance of these incomes to be used where they are collected fully respecting the principle of subsidiary. The threats to particularly undersea energy infrastructure that run through international waters remain real, and the maritime security situation in the Baltic Sea continues to be challenging. We strongly welcome the inclusion of repairs of damages resulting from inter intentional disruptive events in the 10 e regulation. This sends a strong political message. It is reassuring to us that we stand together to protect the critical EU energy infrastructure. We hope that the need to use these funds for repairs will never materialize. As highlighted in the EU cable security action plan, the rapid repair of critical infrastructure is essential for to improve our resilience. The repair capabilities may even help to deter deliberate damage in the 1st place. In this context, we want to underline the importance of fast response and swift access to the funding as the repair of undersea energy infrastructure already takes several months. On this regard, we have also joined the statement with other countries. Thank you.”
  Cybersecurity investments for critical infrastructure
• 2026-06-25 “Thank you chair Finland. Supports the implementation of the EU Water Resilience Strategy through broad based stakeholder cooperation. Member states should, however, be given the flexibility to implement the strategy in the most appropriate and cost effective way. It is important to use water resources sustainably and efficiently and ensure the water availability in changing climate. Water resilience is clearly linked to competitiveness and security. We encourage companies to demonstrate active water stewardship by using responsible, transparent and sustainable water management across the operations and value chains. Finland's River basin management plans and marine strategic strategy and flood risk management plans play an important role in implementing the strategy. We will start a national dialogue with stakeholders on water efficiency this year to examine how efficiency should be addressed in various sectors and regions. We are also investing in protecting critical water infrastructure and continuously preparing to prevent and mitigate water supply disruptions. Regarding the coming Digitalisation action plan for water sector. Our small and medium sized enterprises have successfully been entering the international market of small smart water technologies in financing the strategy's actions. We emphasize that the instruments should prioritize the source to see approach. Nature based solutions. Water retention and improved soil conditions. Finished industry can provide water technology and management expertise such as water purification, water reuse, and circular economy solutions. We see value in a predictable regulatory environment and better use of blended finance to attract private investment and support the scaling of innovative and European water solutions. Thank you.”
  EU policy on water management
• 2026-06-25 “Thank you chair. Consistency and predictability are key elements in climate policy. The EU climate law provides long term direction, while transport decarbonisation should build on existing measures. We support improving the competitiveness of the automotive sector while maintaining predictability of regulation, certainty for investors and promotion of the clean transition. We can accept Flexibilities for manufacturers to achieve their targets to improve the short term competitiveness. At the same time, it remains important to ensure the ambition of the regulation to deliver emission reductions in the effort sharing sector. This is why it's crucial that we do not expand the flexibilities proposed by the Commission or introduce any further weakening of the CO2 standards. We note that lowering the 2035 target increases transport emissions, and the proposed fuel credits do not ensure emission reduction in the transport sector. For Finland, it would be important to ensure emission reductions in a more technology neutral way. We are looking forward to continuing the work under the Irish Presidency. Thank you very much.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• 2026-06-25 “Thank you chair. We broadly align with the view set out in the Non-paper. We agree that recycled content application must be designed in a manner that ensures its practical enforceability and effectiveness. It should be based on a robust assessment of the existing fibre, the fibre recycling capacity within the Union, as well as on credible and evidence based projections of its development. Finland supports harmonised union by definitions of criteria for ultra fast fashion. This is essential for the identification of operators and effective application of extended producer responsibility fee modulation. We also support harmonised union wide criteria for modulating extended producer responsibility fees. Commission should strengthen control of online platforms under the Circular Economy Act or other relevant legislation to close the existing enforcement gaps. Competent authorities should be able to effectively monitor and enforce Obligations of ultra fast fashion operators. Thanks.”
  Sustainable fashion
• 2026-06-25 “Thank you, dear Maria. The urgency of scaling up implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework by 2030 is recognized by the first Global Review. It's important to prioritise actions and outcomes that contribute positively to the Global biodiversity framework and its implementation. Address the financial gap and accelerate the transformation towards nature, positive solutions and tools. We need to foster effective and innovative financing approaches that deliver clear benefits for nature and people, and strengthen coherence and strategic direction across existing efforts. This includes advancing new initiatives that contribute to the global biodiversity framework and its implementation, as well as public private partnerships and private sector engagements. We need new approaches that link finance to measurable outcomes and to business impacts and dependencies on biodiversity. Nature credits have the potential to complement public funding towards biodiversity and attract private investors through upfront funding, de-risking instruments and lending facilities. Combining these instruments properly, properly helps nature positive projects take off at a larger scale. In Finland, the biodiversity improvements, such as positive change and recovery of ecosystems, are measured, verified and converted into tradable nature credit units. These credits are purchased by companies and other stakeholders, creating a direct financial flow from the private sector to those managing and restoring ecosystems. We have actually now, just this week accepted this legislation in our Parliament. This ties financial flows to real, measurable ecological outcomes. At the same time, it introduces a market mechanism in which nature becomes an asset that can attract investment. Madam chair, there is also a need for better coherence across EU policies and ongoing legislative initiatives related to nature, business and competitiveness. This includes biodiversity in all its dimensions, including the freshwater and marine ecosystems and the environmental assessment. Nature positive outcomes are key for both diversity and a successful Cop 17 in Yerevan, and they underscore the need to continue and scale up efforts. Thank you.”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• 2026-06-25 “Thank you Maria. And we broadly align with the views set out in this non-paper. It's highly important that the economic operators know in good time which obligations apply to them to ensure the consistent implementation implementation across all EU Member States. Guidance from the Commission and joint discussions with the Member States are required. We would also like to raise our concern concerning the reuse targets of beverage packaging in sparsely populated countries, with very well-functioning deposit and return system. For example, in Finland we have had this system in place about from the 50s already, and it is really working well. We have a rate of reuse on recycling over 95%. So I definitely think that the member states, with this kind of well functioning systems with average population density are very low, should have the possibility to exempt reuse targets for beverage packaging, provided that they have very well functioning separate collection system with recycling rate over 90%. Thank you.”
  Re-use of packaging
• 2026-06-25 “Madam chair, dear Maria, thank you for this timely discussion remains the cornerstone of the EU's chemicals framework. Its objectives are still fully relevant. At the same time, the European chemicals industry is facing significant challenges and explained by the background note. Therefore, regulatory predictability and legal certainty are essential. We should continue to ensure that Reach remains fit for purpose and keeps pace with scientific and technological developments. We support updating registration requirements to reflect the new hazard classes introduced under the revised CLP regulation. Also, the harmonisation and digitalisation of safety data sheets should be advanced. Digital solutions can improve accessibility, facilitate compliance and reduce administrative burdens, particularly for SMEs. Comitology can also be used to improve the quality, consistency and updating of registration dossiers, thereby strengthening the effectiveness of the system without reopening the legislation. Ensuring a level playing field between EU producers and imported products must be a priority. The address to address the reach compliance gap, we should focus on more effective and coordinated enforcement enforcement across the EU. Strengthening cooperation between Customs market surveillance and chemicals enforcement authorities is particularly important, especially in relation to imported products and online sales. Our objective should be a rich system that is scientifically up to date, efficient to implement, and supportive of European competitiveness while maintaining a high level of protection for human health and the environment. Thank you.”
  Chemicals regulation
• 2026-06-22 “Thank you very much, Maria. And welcome to our new colleagues. Thank you for all the work you have done on the sector specific regulation. We agree with the previous speakers. A progress has been achieved. However, some details still need to be discussed. We especially need to clarify the link between fleet construction and renewal and the application of the DNS principle. We are still committed to constructive and flexible efforts in this matter. We support the presidency's aim to find a workable solution and to move towards a general approach that would take into account the Member states concerns. Thank you very much.”
  Road transport environmental policy
• 2026-06-22 “Thank you Maria. And I'd like to thank Romania for taking up the challenging situation of brown bears in Finland. Bear populations have not been regulated by hunting for three years. This has led to a record increase of the brown bear population. Last year it grew by 16% and is now already approaching the threshold value of 3000 bears. The problems caused by the growing population have also increased significantly. The Commission should take into account in the stress test of the Habitats Directive that in several Member States, the bear populations exist which have been in a favourable conservation status for a long time. For instance, Finland's brown bear population has been reported to be in a favourable conservation status in all four. In all six year reports, article 16 of the Habitats Directive does not provide sufficient flexibility to manage such brown bear populations, and I do understand that the situation seems different, especially in Western and southern Europe, but it is necessary to introduce more flexibility for eastern and northern bear populations by amending the annexes to the Habitats Directive. Thank you.”
  Large Carnivores
• 2026-06-22 “Thank you very much, Maria. It is good that we have a thorough discussion on the evaluation. From Finland's perspective, the key issues relate to the provisions of the basic regulation concerning the objectives of fisheries management, both the MSY and socio economic objectives, as well as the regionalisation of fisheries policy. We continue to view these elements as a strong foundation, and they must continue to be based on scientific evidence. Finland supports a broader application of the ecosystem approach, for example, by taking into account changes in the state of the Baltic Sea when regulating fisheries. This approach must take into account the impact of the growing populations of seals and cormorants on fish stocks and fisheries. Finland also considers the green transition to be an important driver of change in the fishing industry, and believes that the need to modernise fishing vessels should be taken into account in a flexible manner. In regulations concerning the capacity of the fishing fleet and support policies, regionalisation should be further strengthened in fisheries control. It is also important to ensure that legislation is enforceable, and that fishermen are not subject to an unreasonable administrative burden as regards aquaculture regulations need to be developed so that they better support sustainable growth in the sector, which has remained weak in the union. We look forward to a constructive follow up work based on this assessment. Thank you very much.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• 2026-06-22 “Thank you Maria. And I'd like to thank Belgium for the proposal. I understand the need to reduce the number of BSE tests to the level required by the World Organisation for Animal Health Standards. At the same time, I note that according to those standards, the implementation of the BSE monitoring may also present challenges when shifting cow testing from rendering plants to farms. We should examine more broadly which testing regime is best suited to each country, each member state, taking into account their geographical circumstances and leave more flexibility. However, guaranteeing the same reliability as the standards of the WOAH. Thank you.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• 2026-06-22 “Thank you Maria, and thank you for the progress reports of these regulations. I'd like to warmly thank the presidency for its determined work during the trilogue. During the negotiations of the PRM regulation, we are pleased to see that the reform is now making progress. I'd also like to thank you for the constructive cooperation on the Animal Transport Regulation. Finland emphasizes the need to keep the key objectives of the reform firmly in mind. Improving animal welfare and reducing the administrative burden. Livestock farming must be possible throughout the European Union, and the regulation must take into account regional circumstances in Finland and Sweden. Reindeer herding industry is also strongly linked to the regional Sami culture. The reindeer live in cold conditions. Therefore, the transport temperature limits of the proposal are not suitable for reindeer and applying them could jeopardize their welfare. Finland has therefore suggested that only the general transport conditions should apply to the transport of reindeer. Thank you.”
  EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers
• 2026-06-22 “Thank you Maria. Thank you, Kostas for the communication. Very briefly, I'd like to mention that our fishermen want stability and predictability in the quota policy in particular. And for this reason too, we should aim at keeping our fish stocks to the maximum sustainable yield and being able to fix fishing opportunities without major fluctuations between years. Further, it is also essential to apply the scientific advice of the International Council for the exploration of the sea. The ICES. In this regard, I am pleased to note that according to the Ices, large pelagic stocks in the Baltic Sea have significantly strengthened. That lays a good basis for us to explore sustainable solutions. Thank you.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• 2026-06-16 “Thank you, Marilena and the whole Cypriot team on your efforts to proceed with MFF and its sectoral files in these months. Your megabox is an important step towards the next phase in the negotiations. We need a timely agreement and a modern and futureproof MFF that matches with the EU's key priorities such as competitiveness and defence. However, I must say that the overall volume of the presidency is still too high. Fiscal space is limited in all member states. Therefore, adjustments are necessary and we must prioritise. We support the modernisation and balance in the Commission's proposal, but this undermines this. We have serious concerns about the presidency's targeting of the cuts. Mainly cutting headings two and three undermines the modernisation as proposed by the Commission. So let me summarize the key elements for Finland that must be addressed. Strong safeguards and conditionalities on the rule of law. The special situation at our Russian border needs to be taken into account. Northern sparsely populated areas. Sufficient cap and home funding. Horizon Europe and Competitiveness fund based on open competition and excellence. Leveraging more private funding. Strong support for Ukraine. Emphasis on defence funding, military mobility and dual use, and no new debt based investment instruments. In addition to the expenditure side, we must also address the revenue side. I emphasize again that the proposed new own resources will not change the fact that the proposed overall level of the MFF is too high. Finland emphasises the national competence of the Member states in taxation, but we are open to further examine some of the Commission's proposals. So a lot of work still needs to be done in the upcoming months. We stand ready to work constructively on an MFF that meets our challenges in a fiscally responsible manner. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• 2026-06-16 “Thank you Marilena. Long negotiations have taken place in the last months and days. This has demanded a lot of work from all of us to achieve the compromise that we have on the table today in NRP. We would have liked to see stronger safeguards and conditionalities on the rule of law and in competitiveness. We emphasise high quality, open competition and global competitiveness. As a compromise, we can support the adoption of the partial general approaches on NP European Competitiveness Fund and Global Europe as proposed by the presidency. Although the Pgas are not perfect, it is important to agree on them today as we need a more stable basis to hit the ground running with implementation. Thank you.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “Thank [00:14:00] you, President. Thank you to Portugal as well Finland fully understands the challenges that have been described. Water resilience, also taking into account the climate change and extreme hydrological events is a common concern. However, the water situation changes from one member state to another, and the main responsibility for taking any mitigating uh measures lies with the member [00:14:30] states, and this goes for funding as well. In our view. Discussions should be continued when the Commission gives its proposal, uh, on the Water Resilience Initiative. As Portugal says, awareness of on saving water should be increased. This is how we can improve the, uh, effective use of water. Thank you.”
  EU policy on water management
• “Thanks for the commission for the update. Finland supports the Commission's goals of simplifying regulation and reducing the administrative burden. Simplification plays an important role in strengthening the EU's competitiveness at the national level. Finland is taking several steps in the same direction. For example regulating related to permitting. We are introducing a one stop service for environmental matters that will begin operations at the beginning of next year. This means that a single state environmental authority with nationwide competence will be responsible for the progress, progress and coordination of environmental permit and other procedures in the future work of simplification and better regulation. Finland emphasizes consistency and a long term perspective. We must ensure that EU policies coherently support the green transition and incentivise private sector investments. Predictability and consistency of the regulatory framework are key for the companies when it comes to new investments and innovation, and also further EU regulations should better be reflected by the principle of technological neutrality. Finally, Epbd is a good example of legislation where technological development has already bypassed the two specific requirements of the directive. This is apparent, for example, in the charging infrastructure of E-vehicles, where the directive is already outdated. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Thank you. We would like to thank the presidency for its active work on the revision of the Energy Taxation Directive. We highlight that further work is still needed on a number of issues and technical points in order to achieve a more balanced package. We also recall that we still have reservations in other respects concerning the revision of the directive as a whole. Some of these unfinished items are the low minimum tax levels of the proposal, and on the other hand, issues related to the taxation of the proposed new products in the scope of the directive. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Dear dear Commissioner, thank you for preparing the communication on posting biotechnology and bio manufacturing in the European Union. Actions and calls regarding the bio economy and the biotechnology are going in the right direction. Although the European Union is a global leader in bio economy and Biobased solutions, there is still a lot of doubled potential for growth in this area. We need a simplify regulatory framework, faster approval ES and faster access to markets for PO based products to meet the challenges brought by our global competitors to US and China as they advance rapidly in both the bio economy and biotechnology in order to improve the conditions for business growth. I regulatory framework as well as to use sustainability criteria should be stable in our recent non-paper and bio economy. Estonia, Finland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Spain and Sweden have empa the importance of bio economy and biotechnology. In reforming the European Union industry, we consider it's very important that bio economy and biotechnology are strongly included in the next commission strategy, Canada and work programme. Thank you.”
  EU support for bioeconomic applications
• “Yeah. Thank you. Chair. Commissioner Finland welcomes the new EU bioeconomy strategy as a strong framework for for a competitive, sustainable and innovation driven EU bioeconomy. Competitiveness, value creation, innovation must remain central with a focus on scaling higher value bio based products and commercialization of innovations. The implementation of the bioeconomy strategy should build on the EU's existing sustainability framework for biomass, which already provides a solid basis for ensuring sustainable production across sectors. Further work should rely on these existing criteria and methodologies rather than to create parallel approaches. In addition, we support an on paper on the Second Biotech Act for Competitive Europe, which will be presented by Denmark later this afternoon. Thank you very much for.”
  EU support for bioeconomic applications
• “Thank you. Magnus, thank you for bringing this topic into this discussion. Today. Finland supports the EU Ocean Pact and its holistic and integrative approach and strong environmental perspective. We also welcome the intention to propose an Ocean Act based on the review of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, the Baltic Sea. Like other sea areas in Europe, face problems stemming from land based pollution. This is why we strongly support the Source to sea approach included in the EU Ocean Pact and the EU Water Resilience Strategy. We need to be better aligned with the EU Common Agricultural Policy, with the objective of the good environmental status, and should make them coherent with the aims of reducing land based pollution. We need to ensure that also other policies impacting the sea, especially the Common Fisheries Policy and the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive, will be aligned to support achieving and maintaining good environmental status. We also need to keep in mind that while targeting the good environmental status, we also need to advance the EU's competitiveness and green transition in view of the net zero economy. Finland welcomes the entry into force of the agreement as a necessary tool to achieve the global biodiversity targets. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive has introduced a good environmental status of the marine environment as our main goal, but the directive does not deliver well enough and this should be changed. In Finland, the implementation of the directive is carried out together with the Water Framework Directive and in good coordination with the implementation of the Nature Restoration Regulation. We think that the Marine Strategy Framework Directive would benefit from some targeted adjustments to help delivering good environmental status directives. Timelines need to be updated and the directive should be made as efficient as possible. The Commission should also carefully consider possibilities to reduce reporting requirements of the Member States when revising the directive, without weakening the directive's capacity to deliver its goals and objectives. We are happy to continue discussion on this important topic. Thank you.”
  EU ocean policy
• “Chair, for organizing organizing this this debate. Finland's view on the 2040 target is already known. We support the 90% net emission reduction target, and I'm very happy to see that the support is for this target is growing. It's also crucial important to have fit for purpose post 2030 legislation. So I will start with your second question on the needed post 2030 regulation, regulatory and investment framework. The main emphasis of the upcoming framework needs to be on cost efficient, effective emission reduction. Thus, certainly ETS will keep on having a key role also in the future. Equally important is to have a technological neutrality at the heart of our policies. I cannot stress this enough. Another topic I want to highlight are removals on the. On the one hand, the need to get the incentives right for the uptake of technological carbon removal solutions, especially beccs. On the other hand, there is also a need to take account of uncertainties related to removals of the land use sector. Generally. Clean transition that also promotes the competitiveness of European industries.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “And dear colleagues,I'd like to emphasize the importance of the work currently done in the Ecofin Council. We, of course need to respect the integrity of the ongoing legislative process. We should focus on the substance in Epsco Council and leave the reform of the economic governance process to [00:52:00] the Ecofin and to the national coordination. Every member state must continue to be responsible for its own public finances. The balance between economic growth and social progress is fundamental. People's well-being is a principal aim of the European Union and an integral value by itself. Investing in wellbeing is beneficial for people's well-being, but also for economic growth, [00:52:30] productivity, long term fiscal sustainability and societal stability. For this, the economy of wellbeing is an excellent approach in which social investments play a key role. Social investment is an ambitious concept. We do not yet have a common understanding of its content. According to the economy of Well-Being approach, [00:53:00] social investments are effective and efficient measures that improve people's wellbeing and yield quantifiable economic returns enhance productivity, and support economic growth. Social investments can support achieving sustainable public finances in the long run. They have an important role, for example, in preventing the future social and health related public costs [00:53:30] and strengthening the employment rate in general, and especially by improving the employment status of women. One of the key messages of the economy of well-being approach is the need to develop further how we measure the interconnection between wellbeing and economy. This applies to social investments also. We would like to thank the Spanish presidency for putting [00:54:00] the methodological, methodological and data issues high on the agenda. Improving the data availability and quality, as well as making methodological improvements is of paramount importance. Exchange of best practices and learning from each contributes significantly for achieving this goal. Thank you very much.”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• “Thank you. Dear colleagues negotiation process has taken the text of the regulation to the right direction and many of also our concerns have been addressed. However, Finland still has serious concerns with the disproportionate costs. The costs according to both commissions and national estimations would be especially high for Finland because of having particularly large areas of those biotypes which are objects for ambitious obligations. In the articles of the regulations throughout the process, Finland's main priority has been to bring significant moderation in the costs of implementation and if we could choose, we'd like to continue negotiation to find an effective but balanced regulation as Finland has been consistent on our position with this file already for more than a year, we vote against the law in this current form. However, if it is to be passed today in this current format, I stress that then we need to all work heavily to enable cost-effective and fair implementation. I also welcome similar demands from very many colleagues, include leonor also for balanced implementation and really hope that the commission also will work accordingly and we all together. Thank you.”
  Nature protection and restoration in the EU
• “Thank you. Maria. It is important that there is challenges regarding liberation of trade. But the agricultural sector also benefits from new markets and stronger economy. It's important that we have different safety clauses so that exports imports do not put danger our production. So we need to also evaluate safeguards according to the each plan. I welcome plans put forward by the Commission Division for Agriculture and Food to harmonise the application of production standards, particularly regarding animal welfare and plant protection products. At the same time, I would like to emphasize science and risk based approaches, compliance with rules, international standards, and maintaining dialogue and regulatory cooperation with our trading partners. It's also important to maintain an overview of the cumulative effects of trade agreements in the agricultural sector. The study, prepared by the Commission Research Centre, needs to be updated on a regular basis. Thank you.”
  Import of agri-food products in the EU
• “Thanks very much indeed. Chair, I wanted to congratulate Sweden on eradicating A.s.f. That's an excellent thing. Very pleased that Sweden was so open in declaring the status of the epidemic, and also allowing us to keep tabs on how it's developing. And we can raise awareness amongst other member states too. Thanks.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• “Yeah. Thank you. Just very, very quickly. Much like Denmark earlier, we are concerned about the competitiveness of industries that have already invested in cleaner production, that they will be safeguarded in the event of a revision of the ETS, and that the industry is planning investment in cleaner production. Retain the confidence to to proceed. So predictability and fairness and long term perspective. Thank you.”
  Extension of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
• “Tereza Kadri and colleagues, let me first express my condolences to the Swedish neighbors and Belgium as well, due to the terror attacks yesterday in Brussels. I want to also to start by thanking Theresa for your already quite long standing work on this dossier [00:28:00] and your team. I think it's very important that we would be able to reach an agreement today. I think all aspects have been put in table already several times. Our message basically is in three points. First, we can support the presidency's idea of limiting the use of the CFDs to new investments only. Second, we like that [00:28:30] the scheme to be technology neutral both directly and indirectly. The question is that do we see 100% renewable energy system in Europe? No. To achieve the aggressive electrification of the economy, to phase out fossils, which is necessary to phase out fossils, we necessarily need a balance of both weather dependent wind, solar renewables [00:29:00] and clean baseload, namely nuclear. So we need really a technology neutral effect from this scheme. Third point is that we prefer sticking as far as possible to competitive mechanisms when it comes to bidding structures and how to how to organise this CFD mechanism. In that sense, even if sometimes it seems lucrative to choose the winner [00:29:30] in in advance and make it in a different form. [00:29:34] We would like to have quite strict rules obeying our normal state aid procedures, and to prefer competitive mechanisms. When it comes to logic of this, these CFD procedures. In the end, I think that we none of us can actually clearly see how this CFD mechanism and all the market will be developing within the next [00:30:00] 5 to 10 years. And at the same time, we are actually talking about investments, which will be mainly realised in 2030, not 2000 and 20s. Even if we are talking about new large scale investments, was it offshore or nuclear? And that is why we are quite close. In the end, we all want to accelerate the speed of investment. We all want CO2 free electricity system and we all hopefully prefer competition and market economy and would like to avoid distortions. [00:30:30] So I think that hopefully we can find a compromise. We would also be ready to have certain additions to the text that are proposed by some parties. But we would like to obey the rule that the this is about new investments and not about supporting current ones. Thank you.”
  Energy transition (state support)
• “(17:40:02 – 17:41:11): Currently, European companies, they have about 15% market share of our cloud services, and we have been losing the markets during the last year. So earlier, it was bigger. It was around the present earlier. So, it's clear that we have also capacity there, and we have a lot of potential in our companies. And with our cloud and AI development act, we are now also creating more demand for those services, especially because we see that it's important when it comes to very critical fields of our society and economy. It's important that we are only using European service providers there. And that is, of course, now creating also more demand for the European services. But this is very much, of course, up now to risk assessment and what kind of conclusions member states are doing after that. But we see that clearly with our proposal, we are creating more demand for European cloud services. And this is, of course, also creating now demand for European data centers, and this is creating more demand also for the European chips. So this everything is very much integrated also this package.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Thank you chair. I would like to thank the Commission for the timely package and the presidency for commitment in advancing the negotiations. There is an urgent need to deepen European capital markets and to reduce existing barriers, and this package is an important step. To this end. All member states have their national specific issues, but we cannot afford to get stuck on this. Centralised supervision should enhance trust in European financial markets and take into account what is best for a wide variety of service providers and investors, both large and small. As regards the suggested governance for asthma, this is a delicate balancing act. Asthma has to be efficient and be able to take decisions fast, while at the same time taking into account, for example, the security related needs of different member states on the scope, we see benefits in centralized supervision of the largest European players. For smaller entities, the positives have to be carefully assessed against the costs. Market share or turnover at entity entity level would be easy criteria, but we are open to other meaningful criteria as well. The Executive Board and the Board of Supervisors supervisors both need to have their respective roles to ensure the flow of information. Ib members could be present at Board of Supervisors meetings, but not be part of it. The Board of Supervisors should decide on cooperation agreements and use of convergence tools such as peer reviews. The Executive Board would be involved in drafting, so it would also have a meaningful role. We are open to any way ensuring the flow of information and the best possible use of European supervisory knowledge, including joint supervisory teams, colleges and other potential structures. Finally, I would like to emphasize that we should not forget the importance of resilience and preparedness aspects in Misp. In particular, ensuring the resilience of Csds in all circumstances should be a high priority. Thank you.”
  Financial regulation
• “Dear chair, dear ministers, dear Commissioner. The cornerstone of the European Union's success and its future growth are based on the work of skilled and innovative workforce, the quality of our scientific research and the impact of commercial [00:10:00] innovations. Research, development and innovation activities are pivotal in generating new knowledge and competence, boosting productivity, renewing business sector and enhancing societal well-being. This ambition requires substantial investments in research and innovation from both the public and the private sectors. Finland emphasises the importance of considering the use and [00:10:30] the utilisation of intellectual property originating from the state funded research, and the need for innovation activities are taken into account already from the idea phase preceding actual research. Finland supports the development of a widely motivating, equitable and well balanced incentive system accessible to all stakeholders in the research and the innovation ecosystem based [00:11:00] on the principle of excellence. Finland believes that the EU level recommendations on guiding principles of knowledge and valorisation should be regularly revised to keep pace with the dynamic landscape of the EU. Knowledge Valorisation environments. Rapid development of actors, methods and operating knowledge valorisation environments necessitates and an adaptable [00:11:30] and efficient approach. A robust knowledge Valorisation environment is instrumental for sustaining the EU's long terme competitiveness and ensuring its security of supply at the European level. Thank you.”
  Widening participation in EU research funding (cohesion vs excellence)
• “06:43 – 17:07:30): Dear chair, colleagues, dear commissioner, I would like to say a few words about military mobility. 1st, we thank the commission for its proposal on military mobility and the presidency for the progress in the council. Their regulation is essential for enabling, the movement of personnel as well as military hardware and material across the union, including by simplifying permit procedures and preventing bottlenecks. Military mobility is a key enable of European defense readiness and NATO's deterrence and defense. Implementation should remain coordinated with NATO and key partners. In particular, Norway should be closely involved.”
  Relations with NATO
• “Thank you to the commission as well. And I think we need to move quickly on this matter To so that we can apply the proposals as quickly as possible. This is why I believe that we should only make limited and well targeted amendments to the proposal. It is important that we agricultural ministers are very much part of the process. And the Commission's proposal about the new data management authority. This does not simplify legislation and it does not reduce the administrative burden. It would create new obligations. So I have reservations regarding this proposal, and this matter should be discussed in detail as part of the reform of the Cap. I support the objective of reducing the administrative burden on organic farms. Um, exemption from certain standards. They should also apply to situations where only part of the farm is used for organic production. This part of the production should be exempted from these requirements. In general, I support the objective of simplifying a cap and to reduce administrative burden. I hope that this will be a key consideration in future Cap proposals. We also expect that the Commission simplifies other legislation that has an effect on agricultural production. For instance, the deforestation regulation as part of future omnibus packages. Thank you.”
  Agriculture (green)
• “23:34 – 11:24:49): Dear executive vice president and ministers. Finland supports the objective to strengthen the governance of cybersecurity and to find more binding solutions on the European Union level to promote ICT supply chain security. We also welcome the review of ENISA's mandate and the cybersecurity certification framework. However, we stress that ENISA's activity should primarily complement and support national cybersecurity capabilities. Finland is also committed to the security of ICT supply chains and communications networks through joint measures to promote the EU's technological sovereignty. It is important to make sure that the competencies and responsibilities between the EU and the member states will be clear. We welcome that the member states would retain the possibility to introduce measures exceeding the measures of the proposal, especially to safeguard the security of communications networks. Thank you.”
  Scope of EU cybersecurity obligations
• “Dear presidency, dear Commissioner, dear colleagues. Prevention of non-communicable diseases is essential for the health and well-being of our citizens. The resilience of our societies as well as our economies. We know that chronic diseases can be significantly reduced by influencing the risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, diet, immobility, as well as loneliness. The rapid increase of overweight and obesity have far reaching consequences. Various measures at population level have shown to be effective and efficient, we need to actively implement policies to tackle this growing public health problem. At the same time, it's important to pay attention to reducing health inequalities between population groups. Therefore, we must assess the impacts of different policy measures on health and wellbeing. We support the implementation of the European Cancer Plan for Finland as a matter of urgency. It's important to review and update the EU tobacco legislation. There is an alarming increase in the use of new and emerging tobacco and nicotine products, such as disposable e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches, particularly among the youth. We must strengthen our efforts to address cross-border advertising. It often targets young people with content that can be harmful. Finland strongly supports an ambitious topical legislation. The council recommendations on smoke and aerosol free environments is a good start. Thank you.”
  EU measures on lifestyle-related behaviours (smoking, drinking, eating, etc.)
• “(17:36:43 – 17:37:04): this press conference and for taking my question. And happy to send over from Jean Sarop. France has clearly said that what's on the table in terms of incentives for public procurement is not enough. So what else can you give given that this is voluntary and that, you know, the main criteria when it comes to technicality and the economic and price criteria are still predominant? Thank you.”
  "Buy European" provisions
• “Thank you. Thank you so much, honorable president, Calimera, dear ministers. I would like to start by thanking and congratulating the Cyprus presidency for your determination to come to a draft partial general approach today. I wanna also thank the Danish presidency for laying out the groundwork and all member states for your very constructive approach. The future Agora EU program cuts at the core of what Europe stands for, cultural and linguistic diversity, heritage, our cultural and creative sectors, including audio, visual, and news media, with their cultural, democratic, and economic significance, and the protection and promotion of our shared rights and values. These are very key components of our democratic participation and social resilience of our union. Agora EU program covers 3 main areas. First, culture, then media, and third, fundamental rights, equality, and civic participation. These 3 separate strands in the program reflect the needs of each of these areas and address their most pressing challenges through a distinct focus. Yes. Agora EU is more than the sum of its parts because these 3 areas experience interconnected social, economic, and also technological challenges. And this is why Agora EU brings them together, now creating synergies when needed and that can strengthen our collective response in areas such as societal resilience or the rise of AI, for example. And in this regard, I'm very happy to see that the partial general approach maintains the core objectives, architecture, and also key provisions of the commission's proposal. Agora EU is there to deliver on various fronts now, in particular, to Creative Europe. Culture strand of Agora EU will continue promoting the cross border creation and circulation of cultural and artistic content and the mobility of our creators as well. It will also reinforce our citizens' awareness and appreciation of cultural diversity while also strengthening the competitiveness of our cultural and creative sectors. And through its media plus strand, Agora EU will also continue bringing the best European films to their audiences, building on the many achievements of the media program over 35 years of its existence. Importantly, with media plus EU program, we'll, for the first time, address also the challenges affecting information and public discourse. We will promote a free, viable, and independent information ecosystem, notably by supporting the news media sector in Europe, but also by tackling disinformation and fostering media literacy. Also, the Agora EU proposal shows the very importance we attach to protecting and promoting our rights and values. It shows the key role that EU funding can play in supporting a vibrant civic space in Europe and the need to step up to new challenges, including to our democracies. To do this, we will continue and build on the results achieved by the current Citizens Equality Rights and Values program. I want to acknowledge your constructive engagement throughout this negotiation. I understand that the key point for you is the balance between flexibility and predictability and also governance. We share your commitment to providing stakeholders with the right level of predictability they need. At the same time, a degree of flexibility allows us to respond to emerging challenges without constant program revision, and this is also valid for governance. What the commission proposed is in line with the treaties and with the overall framework as put forward for the next MFF proposal, where the commission has repeatedly emphasized the importance of simplifying our funding mechanisms and to maintain a consistent gross program approach. So thank you again for your very constructive engagement with this proposal here, and you can rest assured of the commission's support and openness as we go along once the European Parliament also adopts its position.”
  EU and national cultural identities
• “Thanks. We think that the most I was outstanding and important. Part of the chemicals legislation that we are still missing is the revision of of the reach regulation. And we we would like to have that as a core of the chemicals strategy. Implementation, especially improving authorisation and restriction processes is crucial for authorities, civil society and industry in the end. Second, we see crucial to have a revision of the ICA basic regulation. So the European chemical agencies basic regulation as soon as as possible to ensure expertise, funding and also clarification of the tasks in light of the most current situation. Overall, we see it's important to implement the chemical strategy for sustainability to protect human health and and the environment. So we welcome very much this issue to be on the table and hope that the Commission will be able to push forward, especially revision of of the reach regulation and also tackling PFAS and other chemicals, which we have been thinking for many years, but not being able to do actually significant reforms there. Thank you.”
  Chemicals regulation
• “(17:37:07 – 17:38:30): I'm very much, and we are very much encouraging all the entities who are doing public procurement really to look very carefully the criteria what they're setting. Because if we are just looking to lowest prices, of course, we are not getting always the best services. So that's why we are also proposing that we can also use the criteria where we are using looking also tech sovereignty parts. And, commission has been already using that kind of public procurement that we have been setting also criteria based to tech sovereignty, and we have received also very, very good proposals for services. So I think that it's important to encourage all the member states and governments to use much more actively public procurement. And we see that we have set that kind of criteria which really allows also our governments to use this tool more actively because it's very strong tool because public administration is big customer for ICT services, and it really matters that what kind of criteria we are setting and what kind of services we are buying. And we can really boost also our homegrown technologies via public procurement. So we are encouraging everybody to look with tools what we have already now on the table, but, of course, we have also additions now in our tech sovereignty package to that. Minister, you would like to add something?”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Active food production is best promoted through strong coupled support, investment aid, animal welfare support, and effective advisory services. All of these are targeted towards active farmers. I support the idea of a work programme for animal husbandry. For example, extensive grassland animal production is necessary and I attach great importance to promoting animal welfare and strengthening the enforcement of existing rules. The Commission has identified the difficulties faced by farms and rural businesses in accessing private financing. This has been done very well by the Commission. All sources of funding must therefore be used for Finnish banks. Eib instruments in the form of guarantees would be very interesting forms of having access to finance. Further development of sustainable finance legislation needs to take into account the specificities of agriculture of the agricultural sector. I welcome the Commission's efforts to harmonise production standards between EU production standards, between EU production and imported products, in particular with regard to plant protection products and animal welfare. At the same time, a case by case assessment, science based and risk based approach and compliance with WTO rules must be borne in mind. I support the idea of creating new sources of income for the sector, for example carbon farming.”
  Agricultural funding
• “26:58 – 12:28:13): Yeah. Thank you. Thank to thank the commissioner for this action plan plan. I think that in well, young people's everyday lives, interaction and participation in society are increasingly taking place in the digital digital environment. So that's why it's not a secondary place for us to think about, but really primary in many ways. And that's why we need to emphasize the safety of online environments as a key objective of youth policy and foster the effectiveness and consistent implementation of EU level regulations for large online platforms to ensure the protection of the rights of young people across all member states. And I think it's a question of resilience. I mean, I know how we know how Europe is being influenced by foreign actors in this field. That's why media literacy, AI literacy, digital literacy are really core civic abilities, civic competencies that need to be also taught in our schools in order for us to maintain being functioning rules based democracies. So it's not just a small issue. It's a very big issue that's defining for the future of our democracies. Thank you. And now, Barbara, Poland.”
  Focus of EU policy on education (shaping workers vs citizens)
• “Thank you chair. Dear colleagues, Finland fully supports the modernised and simplified MFF structure. In a changing operating environment, we must be able to respond to crisis and unforeseen needs in a timely and efficient manner. A new modernised MFF structure with flexibilities gives us tools for this. The new national and regional partnership plans are a key part of this structure. We believe that they will bring synergy benefits. However, sufficient flexibility must be ensured in drawing up the partnership plan and in implementing the funding. Strong safeguards are needed to ensure full respect of the rule of law and fundamental rights. We also support the performance based approach. Preconditions for payments should be seen as a tool to ensure sound and efficient use of EU funds in all member states. In our view, a modernised, future oriented MFF and a strong Common Agricultural Policy are not contradictory, are not contradictory aims. Through simplification and synergies, we can ensure more efficient support where it is most needed, while accommodating key priorities such as defence and competitiveness. The future Cap should ensure profitable and sustainable agricultural production in all member states. Also in less favoured areas. This is very critical from the perspective of security, of supply. Securing funding that directly affects farmers income is key. For us, it's very important that the commission is focusing on active farmers. It's positive that a wide range of measures are foreseen to support agriculture and rural development. In our view on rural development measures, synergies should also be sought with the Competitiveness Fund and Horizon Europe.”
  Agricultural funding
• “Thank you. Istvan. It is cheaper to prevent than cure. If you look at the destruction caused by the disease, biosecurity is essential. And this can be supported by Vaccines. Bluetongue disease is an example of a disease that spreads in vectors, and it is essential that in the European Union we have quick, safe responses to these diseases, i.e. vaccines. And with regards to African swine flu, we are sorry for the situation in many countries where this disease has spread. It is essential that we act swiftly. It is essential that different actors, hunters and other actors are also involved in eradicating this disease. Changes to animal disease legislation must be done after careful consideration and after Efsa has also given its view on this matter. Thank you.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• “Thank [00:09:30] you. President. Dear ministers, biosecurity is the cornerstone of all disease control and its best practices need to be further strengthened in Member States by systematically assessing the biosecurity of farms, measures and resources can be properly targeted. Avian influenza poses a serious threat to the poultry industry, wild birds and human health worldwide. Even with improved biosecurity, it is [00:10:00] not possible to fully control the disease in all circumstances. New tools are needed. I welcome the fact that several member States have begun to investigate the use of avian influenza vaccines on the basis of research, and that information on these studies is being shared openly. Vaccines appear to have the potential to reduce the incidence of diseases, economic losses, and the risk to human health and the environment. However, the introduction of vaccines requires careful monitoring [00:10:30] to detect possible silent infections. Member states need to cooperate closely with each other and with trading partners. It must be ensured that member states are not subject to restrictions contrary to international standards when using vaccines. Thank you.”
  Animal diseases prevention and management in the EU
• “Thank you. And, uh, wish you a happy birthday, Rob. Uh, and also, thanks for good, [00:08:00] uh, intervention here. So first, I want to thank the commission for preparing both communications published in February, both the 2040 climate target and also communication on industrial carbon management, published simultaneously. And we find it very important that also when we are discussing about legislative architecture, these two elements should go hand in hand. Uh, I think that our [00:08:30] all first priority should be to ensure continuity and consistency of the key policy targets and tools which are decisive for major investments. To clean industrial solutions. We must avoid a trap where we have five year period without clarity. How EU will go forward with key policy elements Finland supports the Commission's proposal for a 90% net emission [00:09:00] reduction target for 2040, assuming that certain enabling conditions for the Europe's climate, architecture and legislation will be met. Uh, some key elements. First, the main emphasis must be on emission reductions and on cost efficiency. I think that emission trading system is by far the main success story in our policy instruments so far during last 25 years, [00:09:30] and further strengthening of EU's emission trading scheme is the main key. Second, uh, the effort sharing regulation in its current form is not cost efficient in order to fit 2040 or 2050 targets, which will go much more ambitious than we have been so far, thus needs to be reassessed the structure of the effort sharing sectors. Third, [00:10:00] achieving the target will require carbon removals, but we need to recognize the uncertainties of the land use sector especially and be realistic here. Also, challenges of the agricultural sector and its main task in food production needs to be taken into account. Fourth, achieving the 2040 target will also require deployment, deployment of carbon capture and storage technologies, as well as the use of captured carbon as a resource in industrial sectors to replace fossils. Technological sinks [00:10:30] will be needed to compensate remaining emissions in hard to abate sectors and very importantly, in designing incentives for industrial carbon removals. The difference between biogenic and fossil Co two should be clear fossil CCS cannot lead to negative emissions, while biogenic CCS and ducks do. Transition to climate neutrality needs to be done in the right way in a technological. Technological neutrality needs to be at the core [00:11:00] of all policies, including how we treat nuclear as a source for green hydrogen. Finally, the EU has been leading the way on international climate action. We need to stay in this course, take decisive targets, but also have realistic, technology neutral, cost efficient tools. Thank you.”
  Climate efforts
• “Dear colleagues. Finland considers the European Semester a key instrument in the coordination of member states. Economic, employment and and social policies. The semester must be developed in a balanced manner, with focus on economic policy coordination while taking into account social and employment policies. Housing policies and challenges vary between the Member states, and the solutions are in the national domain. The competency of the Member States needs to be fully respected in the upcoming European Affordable Housing Plan. Housing should be evaluated comprehensively, including investments in private housing and free market rental housing. Production practices of treating social housing loans as public debt vary between member states. The inconsistent treatment of social housing loans in statistics across member states is distorting public debt comparisons and limiting its investment capacity in countries like Finland compared to other member states. One of the biggest problem lies with the debt rules of the current excessive deficit procedure, so-called EDP, as state guarantees for housing construction increase general government liabilities and EDP debt. This is why Finland cannot finance social and affordable housing in the same way as many other member states can. Finland's state supported housing finance is already shrinking interest. Subsidized housing loans are expected to fall from about 2.25 billion in 20 24 to 0.5 billion by 2027. This is why it is important to have an equal statistical treatment for all member States. We trust the Commission to provide a constructive solution. Dear colleagues, Finland pursues Housing First based homelessness programs. It considers housing as a basic right which is not dependent on participation in other services. This approach is underpinned by state subsidized housing and social security provisions that cover rent. We aim to eradicate long term homelessness by 2027. The Finnish housing market differs currently from many other European countries. This year, rents for Non-subsidized dwellings have unusually fallen in the capital area, while elsewhere they have increased by about 1%. However, population growth and migration are expected to increase demand in growth centers in the coming years. Thank you.”
  European Semester (social dimension)
• “Thank you very much, madam. And thank you to the Czech Republic. We agree on the need to mitigate the cormorants impact on the fishing industry, aquaculture and aquatic ecosystems. It is clear that cormorant population management adapts to population fluctuations, and that will be necessary in the future. But this is only possible if the cormorant is listed among the huntable species in annex two of the Birds directive, as Finland and Estonia. Stressed. We already have experience with a similar situation regarding the barnacle goose and the agricultural damage it causes. An international management plan for the Barnacle Goose was approved in 2018. Unfortunately, such an international management plan cannot allow for adaptive population control, as the species is not listed in annex two of the birds directive. Therefore, the barnacle goose population and the damage it causes continue to grow. We therefore believe it is important that hunting of this species is permitted first as a means of population control, and only then should be a management plan be developed. I would also like to point out that seals cause a great deal of damage in the Baltic Sea, and improving their population management requires allowing the commercial use of Seal products. Thank you.”
  Environmental regulation of fisheries
• “Thank you, chair, commissioner, dear colleagues. The timing of this discussion on the new work plan could not be better as it follows directly after the ambitious culture compass communication. We fully support the directions outlined in the compass and the principles set out in the draft joint declaration. The EU must reinforce European values and cultural rights, give stronger support to artists and cultural professionals and at the same time, become more competitive, resilient and cohesive. We must also play a stronger role internationally by promoting cultural relations. The world around us has changed significantly, and Europe must respond to these changes. The priorities of the Culture Compass are designed precisely to respond to today's challenges. When we consider what needs to be done, culture and cultural heritage stand out as clear opportunities for the EU, opportunities that are ready to be acted upon. This applies across all the directions of the cultural compass. For us, strengthening the EU's competitiveness, resilience and cohesion as well as promoting the union's values beyond our borders are key priorities. Both areas require serious attention to digital technologies and artificial intelligence. From an institutional point of view, we also need flexibility. We must reflect on how we work and adjust our methods if we want this process to succeed and deliver a truly strategic framework based on agreed priorities. This is the first time that the commission, the parliament and the council have come together around a common approach to culture. Making the most of this political momentum is just as important as any individual action we may take. Let us seize this opportunity and make it a success. Thank you.”
  EU and national cultural identities
• “Thank you. Chair. Dear colleagues executive Vice-President Teresa Ribera. Today we have presented you a non-paper which has been prepared in cooperation between Finland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Romania and Slovenia. The Non-paper highlights our views on a number of topical themes, such as the independence of competition policy. The discussion on European champions, merger control and competition's significance for resilience sustaining Europe's competitiveness is more important than ever. We recognise the need to continue the discussions further. In our view, the European economy needs policies that boost growth, productivity and strengthen the European Union's competitiveness while pursuing these objectives. It's essential to ensure that the EU's competition policy safeguards effective competition in the internal market. Effective competition is important for many reasons. It results in lower prices, higher quality goods, more innovation and better choice. It boosts growth, productivity and competitiveness, and it also helps to maintain diversity in the supply chains, which is crucial for tackling dependencies to protect competition and the proper functioning of the single market. We need to have robust and effective competition policy, as well as effective and fact based enforcement of the related rules. Thank you very much.”
  EU Competition policy
• “Thank you, chair. And happy birthday, dear colleagues. Commissioner, Finland is ready to approve the general approach. And and we see that it's crucial to improve the European Union's capabilities on artificial intelligence. We see that AI gigafactories can contribute to increasing Europe's competitiveness. And during the negotiation process, we have emphasised that the governance and funding model of the AI gigafactories must be as simple as possible and therefore attractive to companies. Our objective is to succeed in having one Gigafactory to be located in Finland, provided that the implementation of the HPC regulation, business interest and financing as well as other conditions are favourable. Thank you very much.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Thank you. Jacob. Finland has a positive stance on the on the agreement principle with Ukraine on revision of the Dcfta. The trade agreement between EU and Ukraine strengthens the stability of operating environment for the actors from the EU and the Ukraine, both which is important in the current geopolitical situation. Ukraine is moving towards EU membership, and I consider that it would be a good thing that we could encourage Ukraine to adopt the EU production standards by allowing them to enter to the EU market. Thank you Jacob.”
  Agricultural trade: Ukraine imports
• “Thank you very much, chairman. First of all, I'd like to thank the commission for the initiative. The aging population is a European wide phenomenon, and Finland's population is aging fastest in the EU. And people's mobility is increasing as well. So this EU regulation is timely and necessary. We're also updating our legislation in this area at national level. I would also like to thank the presidency for taking forward the negotiations effectively, and we hope that we'll be able to move further in the negotiations quickly. We, uh, we are very keen on the introduction of the European Certificate of Representation. We feel that it will bring relief in cross-border situations. Now, there are some issues that are not covered by the partial general approach. And I would like to note that Finland has reservations about the obligation to set up protection registers and the regulation of interconnection. It's a very complex issue. And so in future negotiations, we need to have a cost risk analysis of this regulation and weigh it up against the benefits. I'm sure that we'll be able to work to achieve the right outcome in future. Thank you.”
  Jurisdiction conflicts between EU and national courts
• “17:47 – 10:21:06): Thank you very much. Next, we have Finland. Thank you very much. Chair, commissioner, Finland is in favor of children's rights. This is a priority for us, of course, and we'd like to thank the presidency for putting this matter on the agenda. To answer first question, the compromise text can only be assessed against the backdrop of all the available documents, which makes it very difficult to answer this question at this point. Finland believes that it's very important for the regulation to not modify applicable national law in the member states such as Finland, where surrogacy is not legal. The proposed regulation should also make allowances for derogations when it comes to surrogacy in favor of applicable law or recognition of parenthood in situations where parenthood is established in another member state or if there is a suspicion of child trafficking or duress. Mutual recognition should not be an obstacle to the protection of the parties concerned in situations where there are good reasons to derogate from the rules. Another very sensitive matter for Finland is the fact that children to be born fall within the scope of the regulation. In our legal system, a child that is not born yet is not a legal person, has no legal standing, and no legal procedures can be initiated on their behalf. We believe that the definition of tribunal or court should be very broad and should also cover decisions that are of an administrative nature because that is 90% of the decisions in this matter made in Finland. We need to look at the various aims of the regulation and the working method applied. We think that there is no reason to rush in, but we must make steady progress. The proposed regulation does raise a number of complex and sensitive matters for member states, and it is therefore important, as we've just heard, to take the right time to deal with the various issues. If we do want to move more swiftly, we need to concentrate on the less complex matters. For example, the regulation is not applicable before the child's birth or if there is any surrogacy in play. Thank you. Thank”
  Regulation of surrogate pregnancy
• “Thank you. Chair. Let me start by saying that we genuinely [00:13:00] support the environmental action programs. They have delivered important results during the past decades. The eighth Environment Action Programme and its indicator set have been excellent tools to continue the work towards our common environmental goals. At the same time, we should also focus on the implementation of the legislation, in particular on those sectors where we have produced extensive legislation during the past years. Some legislations are still coming to be implemented [00:13:30] after they are finalized. Looking ahead, there are several points we would like to see happen during the next commission's terms. The focus should be in promoting a clean transition and on opportunities for a sustainable bioeconomy and circular economy. It is clear that the measures to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss must be continued. For us, it is crucial that the clean transition will be implemented cost effectively. Sustainable bioeconomy and renewable [00:14:00] natural resources offer sustainable solutions for reducing emissions and breaking away from harmful dependencies. And finally, we want to stress that digital solutions and their early adoption play a key role in promoting a clean transition. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Consumers are very interested in the origin of food and how it is produced and what what kind of route the food has taken to the consumer's plate. Finland supports the clarification and development of origin labelling requirements for food products. I consider it very important that rules on origin labelling are specifically developed in EU legislation. Finland has repeatedly stressed that origin labelling requirements must be such as to ensure that consumers are adequately informed. At the same time, the requirements must be feasible for operators, in particular SMEs without disproportionate administrative burden requirements must also be subject to control by authorities. The consumers must be able to trust that the information provided is truthful. Thank you.”
  Food labelling harmonisation at EU level
• “Thank you very much, chairman. First of all, I would like to thank the presidency for the excellent job of work. It's done on this general approach. Effective and efficient insolvency proceedings strengthen the free movement of capital and cross-border investment, strengthening European competitiveness and deepening the capital markets. Union is very important. We will contribute to finding common European solutions for the development of capital markets as part of strengthening strategic competitiveness. Finland can agree to the council's general approach. We feel that the presidency's compromise is good and well balanced. The proposal has focused on those titles that can genuinely contribute to the Capital Markets Union. This is a successful solution, and this will allow the next stage in the preparation of this important directive to be taken in Finland's view. We feel that it's important that all EU legislation is also looked at through the lens of contingencies. And so we're very pleased that the directive has brought on board the provision on emergencies. Uh, so we would like to wish the presidency every success in the trialogue with the European Parliament. It's important that there is a room for manoeuvre and that that is, uh, reached and maintained in the trilogue negotiations. We have to work together to make sure that insolvency procedures in the EU are effective and efficient. And so for this reason, we continue to be of the opinion that the procedure for micro-enterprises, which now has been abolished, should not be included in the final directive either. In Finland, the introduction of procedure for micro-enterprises would mean a more costly and less efficient system, and it would increase court functions and open up new possibilities for abuse, for debtors. And so for Finland. It's essential that EU regulations do not undermine the efficient and effective national procedures that are also already in place. Harmonisation should target truly cross-border situations and we feel that micro-enterprises do not fall under that category. Thank you.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you. President. I would like to thank the the Commissioner for this report. I would like to say that I appreciate the work that the Commission is doing to promote animal welfare. It is also this is also important at the farm level. It's important that we have a level playing field in the whole of the European Union. It's very important that we can also ensure that we have equal production conditions for the EU and for the imported products from third countries. The work that we or you do for harmonious implementation of legislation is very important. And also for Finland, the tail docking of pigs is an important issue. We thank you for what you have done in order to promote controls and implementation of the legislation. It is important that we develop the legislation concerning the whole food chain without compromising compromising animal welfare and food safety. And We think that also important thing pertaining to this legislation is the mechanically separated meat. Thank you.”
  EU requirements on animal welfare for farmers
• “Also here, the Member states should have a strategic steering role. European companies need stable and long term investment vision and European Competitiveness Fund should contribute to this with a clear strategic focus. The European Competitiveness Fund should also avoid duplications and reduce the administrative burden for our companies. And when it comes to competitiveness actions, projects should be selected through open and competitive procedures, and they should be awarded based on criteria that ensure that only the best projects are funded in terms of their quality and impact. This is the only way we can choose the most competitive actions. We need to make the best use of the EU budget by increasing the leverage and securing sufficient private investments. We cannot solve this only by public funding and therefore the leverage is crucial. And before I conclude, I want to emphasize that the overall level of the MFF as proposed by the Commission is clearly too high. Also, we are opposed to any new debt based investment instruments. On a final note, as I already mentioned earlier today, we must keep up the momentum of the MFF negotiations. Thank you.”
  Size of EU budget
• “Thank you. And I also want [00:29:00] to congratulate Belgium for for the presidency and wish you wish you the best of, of luck and success. The program is an is a good response to the challenges at hand. I think it describes the main issues we are facing, and I think it's only a it's a good statement that the rule of law is is first on the list. When you look at the challenges we are facing and, and, uh, whether it's our internal processes or enlargement, uh, you [00:29:30] can't really put enough emphasis on the rule of law as a foundation for the EU and also for a foundation of, of, uh, strengthening the credibility and the and the and the possibility to function as a, as an effective union. So, so it's good that that is a high, high priority, uh, competitiveness, uh, is another issue. Michel Barnier said in an interview a few months ago in Financial Times [00:30:00] that the only reason XI Jinping and Biden respect the EU is a single market, and that is why we really should focus on that. Xavier mentioned in Coletta's report. Mario Draghi also has a report coming up, and I really hope that we can learn from those and realize, uh, what really makes us competitive, uh, what we need to, to work on. We are living in a post-Covid, post-Covid times. Uh, we have a war going up in Europe [00:30:30] that has caused some disturbances in the single market that we need to be aware of. Uh, in the race, in the competition, in the global competition, the EU will not do well unless we we constantly try to improve the single market and its effectiveness. Uh, so both the rule of law and the single market, general competitiveness is prerequisites for us to be to be a global power [00:31:00] as well as having, having a successful enlargement process. So I really look forward to to working with these issues.”
  EU Supervision of the Rule of Law
• “Madam chair, I would also like to thank the Commission for the targeted proposal and the presidency for securing a quick procedure. We are pleased that all the institutions were able to work so swiftly to avoid the threatening shortage of medical devices. However, we will still need EU wide measures, especially to tackle the bottleneck problem of notified bodies as outlined by the Commission. Finland is committed to working with the Commission and other member States to find sustainable solutions in the longer term. Thank you.”
  Medical devices
• “Thank you Christopher. And streamline and simplify. The legislation is an important goal for the administration. From the point of view, I consider that it's very important that the Common Agricultural Policy Omnibus package shall be approved as soon as possible, so that the farmers can benefit from the changes as soon as possible as well. It is important in the upcoming environmental package includes proposals that will help to reduce. For instance, the restoration regulation caused administrative burden for farmers. I also considered updating the UTB directive as soon as possible. Next year is extremely necessary. I am very pleased that the objective of the Commission is to make targeted changes to the directive, in order to strengthen the farmers position in the chain. Thank you.”
  EU policy on farmer–buyer relations in the agri-food supply chain
• “(17:32:50 – 17:34:18): Thank you very much. And this is clearly something that we have seen during the last year that more and more governments and also industries, they have been focusing more to take sovereignty really, and they have been also assessing what kind of risks and dependencies they are having. And I very much, of course, welcome all the work what different governments are doing in this area because we see that it's real risk that we have that kind of risky dependencies, and it's important really to look to critical sectors of our economies and security where it's very important that we are using only European companies, for example, and we are always sure that we have access to our technologies and data in all circumstances. So I don't think that this is something overlapping. And, of course, we just published now our package last week, and there we were defining what we, how we see tech sovereignty, what does it mean, and also we were setting up the criteria, for example, to sovereign cloud services there. And I'm sure that all the member states now they are very, of course, carefully also assessing our proposal, but I think it's positive that member states are also working towards the same direction, really to look how we can boost our own European homegrown technologies and how we can also mitigate risky dependencies we might have. Thank you. We'll have a question from Matthew and then from Anna.”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Thank you very much, chair. And thank you also to the commissioner for your very clear presentation. We'd like to thank the commission for this initiative. We think it is important that we take effective action to prevent the sexual exploitation of and sexual violence against children. To answer your first question, sure, we agree that the limitation periods need to be sufficiently long to make sure that people can be held accountable for their crimes and for children or violence against children. Crimes against children. Those limitation periods have to be sufficiently long for the victim to be able to bring their case once they've turned of age. So we think that you can include the limitation provisions in the directive, but they need to take into account the different member states legal systems, and we need to avoid the creation of safe havens in our regulation. On the second question, we believe that pictures and videos, which have been blurred using AI and describe sexual violence against children as well as deepfakes, should be criminalised in the same way as videos and pictures of sexual violence against children generally. And just finally, we also agree with what has been said by Sweden and others about the importance of lack of consent as part of the rules on rape.”
  Criminal-law harmonisation of child sexual abuse offences (CSAM Directive recast)
• “20:43 – 11:22:59): Thank you very much. We just want to say we can, accept this general approach. Thank you, presidency and other presidencies as well for all the progress you've made in bringing us to this place where we are in making progress. Funding justice is essential for proper functioning of the system and for legal corporation and the whole justice program for our citizens, for our businesses. It's essentially properly funded and judicial corporation has to be, therefore, properly resourced as well. And that other instruments for funding be available during the next financial framework, and it's very important the right arrangements are made for the next framework. We also think that it should be possible to use other instruments and other funds in the next framework period and that this be possible for the judiciary to draw on. Because internal security, the justice system, and everything are 2 sides of the same coin. Access to proper funding from different sources is essential to deal equipped efficiently with the threats and challenges of at internal level. And the court, the police, the judiciary, the law enforcement have to work properly together and under we need a proper understanding of the challenges of internal security. Also, in the context of what we're talking about today, we've put our thoughts on paper, and we've sent this to our colleagues, and the home ministers are talking about this and in their work and ours. I hope we don't forget that we have to be on the same page. We have to avoid not working together across these different areas. We have to make sure that the funds are being used properly, efficiently in the interest of justice and our citizens. Thank you. Thank you very much. Latvia now, Ed Barts. Yeah. I got that as president.”
  EU law enforcement cooperation in criminal matters
• “Thanks. Uh, colleagues, Europe steel, automotive and chemical industry is facing the same structural headwinds unfair global competition, subsidized overcapacity and under-priced imports, which are eroding competitiveness and displacing European production. To remain competitive and strategically autonomous. Europe must improve market conditions, stimulate demand for clean products and ensure a predictable, innovation friendly regulatory environment. A proportionate, stable and technology neutral framework combined with a genuinely well-functioning single market remains essential to maintain industrial competitiveness and scale the sustainability transition to safeguard strategic value chains. Initiatives such as the Critical Chemicals Alliance can play an important role. Their impact, however, depends on high quality, transparent impact assessments. Measures such as fleet greening and battery booster can accelerate market formation provided that they remain proportionate, cost effective and administratively light, and do not penalise companies that have already invested substantially. Europe should accelerate first of a kind industrial deployments and pilot infrastructures to speed up technology uptake and secure leadership in clean industrial solutions. Targeted EU funding for start ups and SMEs can strengthen innovation ecosystems and support commercialization. Public funding alone, however, is not sufficient. Public private partnerships combined with powerful enablers such as AI, high performance computing and robust data ecosystems can significantly shorten development cycles across materials, chemicals, biotech and mobility. Regarding ETS, Finland stresses the importance of maintaining the integrity of the ETS in providing incentives, certainty, and predictability for Investments. Finally, we highlight that the possible use of European preference should be carefully selected and targeted so that the definitions should be sufficiently clear and precise. Thank you.”
  Energy (green transition)
• “Dear chairman. Uh, it's important that companies acting in the single market contribute to sustainable development. In our view, common rules at the European level are needed. We have been critical about the new rules on civil procedure, which were introduced in the provisional agreement in last December. Especially the provision on legal standing has been difficult for us. Having said this, we thank you for listening to our concerns. The changes you have introduced solve our concerns. What it comes to other changes. We think it's that the changes to the scope of the directive are significant. However, we understand that these are needed in order to have possibility to take this file forward. Forward. But I remind that it's important that we are careful in the administrative burden introduced to the SMEs and carefully look after this chair issue. Chair I'm happy to say that Finland can now support the file and as the and the text as it stands now. Thank you very much.”
  Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
• “(17:35:59 – 17:36:43): Yes. The reason why we prepared our tech sovereignty package, it was about and it is about really boosting European competitiveness in technologies and secure our security and resilience in these critical sectors. And our international partners, they were aware that we are preparing that kind of package. So we have had discussions on that already many months because we have been preparing this package. And so, they were aware, all our partners that we are preparing the package. And, also, generally, it was known what it includes. So I don't think that it was a big surprise for anyone. Anna, you go back. Thank you very much for”
  EU digital & tech sovereignty
• “Thank [00:05:30] you for the topic, chair. I will definitely affect basically all cultural creation, production, distribution and consumption. I will argue that while being also critical, we should seek constructive, fair and safe use of AI. Yes, there are well known challenges to mention a few. The use of AI push even more emotional and polarized polarizing content [00:06:00] in social media, with increase in deep fakes and misinformation problems and challenges for culture and creative sectors, are right now more tangible than benefits. Furthermore, AI applications the more advanced apps in particular have clearly been trained with copyright protected works, but without the rights holders permission and remuneration we need to ensure the respect for copyrights. Having [00:06:30] said that, none of AI's problems is an excuse not to try and find ways for cultural and creative sectors to use the best possible manner and also help develop better AI enhanced cross-sector collaboration, in particular between the CS and AI developers and researchers, plays a key role. It is also crucial that AI that is educated with culturally diverse [00:07:00] materials actually reflecting the real world, can avoid the current biases and be much more inclusive. I see the European CS are well placed to provide such diverse material. Strong cross-sector collaboration resulting in more representative AI could even form a competitive advantage and a distinguishing factor for European AI. At the same time, we must [00:07:30] be ready for threat of massive flood, flood of AI generated content and cultural and creative sectors. We cannot even anticipate what the emerge of AI content market will mean for existing content markets. Therefore, we need to follow carefully this development because it's up to us, our governments and the EU to ensure that AI content market will not destroy the market for human created content. [00:08:00] To conclude, I see promising developments also in Finland where CS actors are using AI tools. Increasingly, cross-sector collaboration should be promoted, as I said, for the mutual benefit of European AI and CS. As a government, we want to make full use of the opportunities provided by the digitalization and artificial intelligence, while making sure people can keep pace with the technological [00:08:30] challenge. Thank you.”
  Artificial Intelligence
• “Thank you. I would like to thank the Commission for this timely reform package. And we see this as an important part of the well-functioning capital markets. We are still studying the various parts of the package, but can already say that our first take is cautiously positive. The key objective for this review should be to ensure that securitised risks leave the banking sector, and we will be assessing this package against this overall objective, and we look forward to working constructively with the Danish presidency on this.”
  Financial regulation
• “37:39 – 17:39:11): Dear chair colleagues, Finland supports the objectives presented by Lithuania and the other sponsoring member states. We share the concern that drone incursion, GNSS interference, and other airborne hybrid threats endanger transport infrastructure and essential services. We are undergoing this 24 7. We welcome the EU work already underway. Finland has strengthened surveillance and situational awareness at its eastern border and in the Gulf Of Finland and is developing drone detection, counter drone capabilities, and arrangement for public warnings and communication. Finland supports swift coordinated EU action to strengthen drone detect detection counter drone capabilities and the resilience of critical transport infrastructure. That requires, this requires close civil military cooperation, real time situational awareness, and effective informational exchange among member states. Finland has EU's and NATO's longest external border with Russia, and it's closed. Finland stresses that the long term threats from Russia and the specific needs of EU's Eastern regions must be reflected in EU priorities. Thank you.”
  Cybersecurity investments for critical infrastructure
• “Thank you, chair. Strengthening the strategic competitiveness of the union is a key objective for Finland. We support concrete measures to strengthen the single market and place great importance on fostering an innovation friendly and business oriented regulatory framework that supports startups and scale ups. We welcome the Commission's proposals on the new EU Inc. The new EU wide company form may strengthen the operating conditions of European companies if the registration, management, and financing of the companies can be organized efficiently. We welcome company form that is optional, of general scope and includes light and digital procedures. We see room for improvements as regards digital procedures with the authorities and safeguards of the minority shareholders and creditors. Most importantly, we still see huge potential challenges in linking the new company form to other fields of legislations, in particular insolvency and tax law. We have specific concerns over the proposed provision of Chapter 10 on insolvency. Moreover, sound legal basis of the EU treaties are of the essence for the proposal. Thank you.”
  EU Single Market harmonisation
• “Thank you, Chair, Commissioner and colleagues. I thank the Swedish presidency also for for this work regarding this recommendation on social dialogue. Finland can accept the draft recommendation. We support for efforts to promote social dialogue at all levels global European [00:10:30] Union and the national level. Tripartite social dialogue can help governments to take better into account the realities and needs of the labour markets. It is also important to create fair circumstances where employers, unions or employers and trade unions can bargain collectively. These circumstances include prohibition, prohibition against anti-union activities, also [00:11:00] proper enforcement. Enforcement of collective agreements is a key. Thank you, Chair.”
  EU competences on social policies
• “Thank you very much, president. Thank you for raising this important issue. It is crucial for the sustainability, profitability and competitiveness of EU agriculture that the AgriFood sector finds new solutions. Biotechnology solutions such as new plant breeding methods can support European AgriFood production and its competitiveness. At the same time, we can reduce the climate and environmental impact of the AgriFood sector without endangering food or environmental safety. To ensure these benefits, we need a regulatory framework which can make it possible to use these new solutions. For example, by reducing restrictions on market access and making the EU more attractive for research and development like Denmark, Finland also strongly supports the commission's study on how legislation can be further improved. Thank you. Thank you, David.”
  New Genomic Techniques
• “Thank you. Istvan. It is very important for EU agriculture that plant breeding legislation is up to date and based on the latest scientific knowledge. From the outset, Finland has strongly supported the draft regulation and sees it as very important to ensure a sustainable and competitive EU agriculture and food production, and we have worked constructively to reach a council general approach. While the draft regulation did not progress under the Hungarian presidency, we strongly support the resumption of negotiations under the incoming presidency on the basis of the balanced compromise text presented by the Belgian presidency in February. Thank you.”
  New Genomic Techniques