The construction industry RT's EU election panel in May could not forget the world situation we live in. The conversation took a completely different course than five years ago. This time, the words security and eastern border were repeated in the speeches.
The panel included candidates for the European Parliament in the June elections Vilhelm Junnila (ps.), Ville Kaunisto (kok), Wind Kousa (green), Suna Kymäläinen (sd.) and Mika Lintilä (middle). The discussion was moderated by the editor-in-chief of Rakennuslehti Tapio Kivistö.
The security theme was present, whether it was the development of the European Union's internal market or investments.
Demaraiden Kymäläinen considered that Finland's infrastructure investments should also be looked at from the perspective of security of supply. Investing in infrastructure facilitates military movement and Finland's traffic to the west.
On the other hand, Kaunisto of the Coalition mentioned that the success of European industry lays the foundation for the construction of hard security. "In this geopolitical time, the importance of Finland's security needs to be highlighted more and more in the European Union," Kaunisto said.
Eyes were also directed to peacetime. "Finland has know-how based on energy efficiency, which can be brought to the fore in the future reconstruction of Ukraine," Kymäläinen reflected.
Fix the internal market
The panel was very unanimous that there is enough to do in the development of the European Union's internal market.
Keskustan's Lintilä summed up his thoughts by stating that instead of developing the internal market, we should talk about restoring the internal market. In practice, it would mean banning national subsidies that distort competition.
Kaunisto called dismantling the state support system a question of the fate of Europe, which should be given much more attention than at present. "At the moment, big countries are distributing government subsidies, and Finland, as a small country, is left behind."
"Finland settles for too little"
The panelists hoped that Finland would make a move and bolder take its share of the European Union's investment money.
Due to its location, Finland has weaker opportunities than many other countries to take advantage of EU funding for cross-border transport projects, but it should be made clear to the whole of Europe that Finland's infrastructure projects also have military significance due to our eastern neighbor.
Both Junnila and Kousa encouraged Finland to be more ambitious when applying for EU funding. "It's pointless for us to complain that we are far away and in a logistically impossible situation if we don't even try to do anything to connect ourselves to the west," Junnila said.
In Kousa's opinion, Finland settles for too little. "We should create a more positive image of the future and boldly pursue it with the support of the EU."
"Eastern border package" from the EU?
Suna Kymäläinen regretted Finland's course in applying for cohesion funding. He reminded that the EU granted a 5,4 billion euro Brexit package to compensate for the financial losses caused by Britain's exit from the EU.
Due to the war of aggression started by Russia in Ukraine, an sanctions policy has been followed for more than two years on Finland's eastern border, which has a strong impact on commerce and tourism. Kymäläinen suggested that Finland could boldly apply for an "eastern border package" from the EU.
When talking about infrastructure investments, Lintilä announced that he supports the construction of the Jäämerirada and also floated the idea of an 83-kilometer bridge connecting Vaasa and Umeå.
Kousa of the Greens regretted abandoning the Tallinn tunnel idea. He considered that Finland should also be linked more and more strongly to Europe with the help of rail transport.
Finns know how to do energy renovations
In April, the European Union adopted the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The panelists thumbed their thumbs at improving energy efficiency from both a climate and economic point of view, but the directive did not receive unreserved praise from all of them.
Vihreiden Kousa admitted that regulation is rarely perfect, but the directive can be important as a tightening agent in the green transition. "Energy renovations are profitable in the longer term, but a mechanism is needed to make the investment possible," Kousa said.
The recent energy efficiency directive did not sufficiently take into account the conditions of the member countries, Lintilä stated.
Kymäläinen considered that new buildings in Finland are already as sustainable as possible in terms of their carbon footprint. The EU's actions encouraging the improvement of energy efficiency can therefore be an opportunity for the Finnish construction industry.
Finland shirt or not?
Those who want to join the European Parliament also consider whether they are promoting the interests of Finland or Europe. As a basketball player, Ville Kaunisto said that he always wears a Suomi shirt in the world. "It is in the interest of the European Union if Finland's strengths, such as the market economy, security, gain a foothold in Europe."
Kousa experienced the Suomi shirt thinking as a stranger and stated that he is both Finnish and European in his identity. "It's hard to imagine situations where the interests of Finland and Europe would be at odds," Kousa reflected.
The panel discussion sometimes touched on the twists and turns of national politics. Kymäläinen pointed out that the European Parliament must forget the government-opposition arrangement of national politics and work together for the benefit of Finland.
CEO of Rakennusteollisuus RT Aleksi Randell emphasized the importance of the European Parliament elections in his speech. The panelists had the same message.
Kaunisto of the Kokoumus referred to the events in Russia and stated that free elections are a counterattack for democracy and a moment of celebration in this time. Demareite's Kymäläinen said that Europe is being challenged from the outside, so now everyone must understand that their voice matters.
Text: Tiina Örn