“The Finnish Forest Industries Federation is encouraged to see the EU setting its course for a carbon neutral competitive Europe in its highly anticipated Competitiveness Compass, released today. In particular, we are extremely happy to see the commitment to ensuring a simplified and more supportive regulatory environment to enhance competitiveness,” stated Kaisu Karvala, Permanent representative and Director of EU affairs for Finnish Forest Industries Federation.
As the Competitiveness Compass states, the EU’s freedom, security and autonomy depends more than ever on Europe’s ability to innovate, compete, and grow and thus sets the goal to nurture Europe’s innate strengths and harness its resources. The forest-based bioeconomy plays a pivotal role in ensuring not only the green transition but also the EU’s autonomy and resource security, as wood is a critical and renewable raw material that underpins environmental sustainability and economic self-sufficiency.
“We are happy to see EU’s renewed interest in the potential of the bioeconomy to bolster Europe’s competitiveness. We are at the forefront of biotech innovation and the bioeconomy as our member companies provide fossil-free alternatives to fossil-intensive products including biochemicals and biomedicals. Our ever-increasing product portfolio ranges from massive timber construction elements to high-tech nanocellulose. We are eager to collaborate with the new Commission to ensure the potential of the forest-based bioeconomy is realised for the EU’s green transition and competitiveness,” Karvala adds.
Finnish Forest Industry & Competitiveness
Beyond a cleaner and more sustainable future, the industry’s extensive domestic value chains are significant to not only heavily forested Member States but also to the Union. The economic and social benefits reflect in employment, tax revenues, investments. The forest industry value chain generates more than 500 billion euros in revenue annually in Europe. With one in five manufacturing companies belonging to the forest cluster, the industry provides over four million direct jobs.
“The communication proposes to address financing via the establishment of an investment and savings Union and refocusing the EU budget and establishing a Competitiveness Fund, it is of utmost importance that the foundation for all competitiveness is excellence-based – including in financing – as well as strict control to ensure that both domestic and EU funds are not distributed indiscriminately. We must avoid a situation where increasingly unrestrained subsidy competition leads to further market distortions, resulting in a situation where the best investments for the future are overshadowed by protectionism – even in Europe,” Kaisu Karvala concludes.
