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**The Finnish Political Festival: SuomiAreena**

SuomiAreena is an annual and the largest public debate forum held in Pori, Finland, in late June. The event was born in 2006 and it is part of European-wide democracy festivals’ network. In Pori, people can co-create a vision for what Finland and the world should be like in the future. SuomiAreena strives for openness, multi-voiced debate, equality, courage and relaxedness.

In 2024 the festival themes were **democracy, culture, mental health, green transition, energy, technology and sustainable development**. The event attracted a wide range of participants (ca. 50 000) including politicians, business leaders, academics, journalists, and NGO representatives. It's a platform where both prominent figures and ordinary citizens can engage in discussions. The four-day event features panel discussions, interviews, speeches, and debates. Sessions are often interactive, allowing the audience to participate and ask questions.

SuomiAreena is widely covered by Finnish media, with live broadcasts and extensive reporting on the discussions. The event is co-organized by the Finnish media company MTV and the City of Pori. In a way, SuomiAreena serves as a barometer for public sentiment on various issues and can highlight emerging trends and concerns within Finnish society.

SuomiAreena 2024

*By [Sofia Leinonen](/rud-pedersen/en/contact/finland/sofia-leinonen), Junior Consultant, Rud Pedersen Public Affairs Finland. Sofia works mainly with energy, industry, and ICT clients. Her expertise and professional interests focus on energy and climate policy as well as EU policy.*

Many of the legislative proposals in the Fit for 55 package have yet to be implemented, and already the EU must turn its attention towards the 2040s. The next Commission and Parliament will face a critical test: can Green Deal 2.0 maintain the same level of ambition, and what will the path to the 2040 emission reduction targets look like?

A preview of the next Commission's work program was given in February 2024, when the Commission published its communication on the EU's 2040 emission reduction targets. The EU aims for a 90% net emission reduction compared to 1990 emissions. In its announcement, the Commission emphasised increasing investment security for the green transition, so the climate policy of the next Commission is expected to be more industry-oriented  than the current one.

This is likely also based on the expectation that the Parliament is predicted to shift to the right.

**The electoral landscape favours the right**
The elections will take place in a very different Europe compared to 2019. Back then, Greta Thunberg's Fridays for Future climate movement gained significant momentum, especially among the youth, which was reflected in the election results – the Greens gained 22 new seats in Parliament. Political commentators called the elections as the "first climate elections." The election outcome was instrumental in creating the ambitious Green Deal program.

Now the situation is different. The coronavirus pandemic and Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine have diverted political attention from climate change - Europe's competitiveness as the competition for state aid tightens, strategic autonomy, and defence capability carry more weight for many voters at the ballot box.

**What is in store for the next parliamentary term?**
Green Deal 2.0 will reflect changes in political power dynamics . There will be setbacks in some matters but leaps forward in others. A lot also depends on whether the current President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, gets another term, which seems very likely.

It is already known that a lot of expectations have been placed on carbon management technologies to achieve emission reductions. In connection with the Commission's  communication on Europe’s 2040 climate target, a piece on an industrial carbon management strategy was published, which aims to create legislative and financial incentives for technical sinks. A technical sink is formed, for example, when carbon dioxide is captured  from an industrial process and stored permanently. In addition, the preparation of the first EU-level certification framework for permanent carbon removals , carbon farming and carbon storage for long-lasting products is nearing completion.

On the other hand, in order for the Green Deal 2.0 to be able to maintain the same level of ambition as five years ago, it must meet the challenges in sectors where the green transition is perceived to be the most challenging to implement – for example in agriculture. Agricultural producers are the ones who feel most betrayed by the Green Deal. Throughout the spring, farmers from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, and Slovakia have widely protested against the reforms brought by the Green Deal. According to the protesters, the tightening of environmental requirements increases the prices of agricultural products, which weakens the competitiveness of EU countries compared to external producers.

Instead, the "easier" exercise will be in sectors where the transition is already well underway - such as decoupling electricity production from fossil fuels. The capacity for clean electricity production is growing rapidly, and the next step is to ensure that we have enough electrified industry to utilise it and infrastructure to transmit and store electricity. Significant investments in the green transition require predictable regulation from the EU, functioning electricity markets, and EU-level support mechanisms to make risky innovations commercially viable.

**How to prepare?**
The preparation of the next commission's work program is already well underway, even though the new commission will not be elected until after the parliamentary elections. 

While not underestimating the significance of the composition of the Parliament, the word of the new Commission will carry more weight as the initiator of legislative proposals.  Led by Ursula von der Leyen, the green transition is not being reversed, but compromises must be found increasingly to rally all member states and party groups behind common goals. 

The importance of member states should not be overlooked in this context either. The rotating presidency of the EU Council, composed of ministers from member states and changing every six months, has the power to slow down or accelerate progress. Additionally, the European Council, composed of Heads of States and governments, primarily determines the political direction regarding the 2040 goals. While wealthier industrialised countries envision technical sinks and hydrogen plants, many Central and Eastern European countries prioritise ensuring that the transition is fair to all parties - including those where the transition is slower and where it costs more as traditional industries like coal plants decline.

From a business perspective, it's crucial to consider messages for EU advocacy from a broader perspective. Green Deal 2.0 will be climate, nature and energy policy as much as social, industrial and security policy.  It's therefore advisable to promptly engage with Commissioners and civil service keeping in mind the aforementioned topics and concerns.

What does Green Deal 2.0 look like?

*By: [Nina Hyvärinen](https://www.rudpedersen.com/contact/finland/nina-hyvaerinen), Senior Adviser Rud Pedersen Public Affairs Finland, focusing on EU-affairs, geopolitics, technology and security policy. Nina is passionate about EU politics and natural in navigating the behind-the-scenes and the corridors of Berlaymont.*

The European Parliament elections and the election of the new Commission will determine who will wield the sceptre of power and in which direction Europe will be taken in the coming years. Of course, this does not happen in a vacuum, as Europe is part of the global playing field and geopolitical power struggle. For the companies operating on the international markets, it is not irrelevant what kind of global role the new EU leaders seek. Will they take an active role, or will the EU fall into the role of a bystander?

Europe is feverishly looking for new ways to succeed. Many have announced that churning out new initiatives and legislation cannot be the primary way. Geopolitical and economic uncertainties will not disappear, rather the opposite. Europe's strategic position, competitiveness and the internal market are important when the direction of the EU is decided as the power changes in Brussels.

**The devil is in the details in internal market reforms**

[The April meeting](https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/m5jlwe0p/euco-conclusions-20240417-18-en.pdf) of the European Council announced a New European Competitiveness Deal and outlined the preparation of a new horizontal strategy for the internal market by June 2025. Various reports have been ordered as inputs.

Former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta's April report on the development of the internal market has served as a good opening for discussion, and we should have a look at the proposals in it, whether we like them or not. Some of them will also appear in the work programme of the next Commission. The report contains things that Letta seems to have included based on the discussions with some Commission experts. It is useful for companies to take a look at the rather massive report and see if there is anything they want to promote, or on the other hand, to prevent.

Another Italian, Mario Draghi, is currently preparing his report on European competitiveness. This is expected to be an even clearer input to the Commission's work programme, as he draws it up at the request and with support from the Commission team. In his April [speech](https://belgian-presidency.consilium.europa.eu/media/v1mhgwtw/20240416-draghi-speech-la-hulpe-16-april-as-delivered-clean.pdf), Draghi outlined his approach at a general level. The speech shows ambitions to unite national players into larger, but less numerous, European operators. Draghi mentions **telecom operators** as an example.

**The internal market is the EU's strength, but in many places companies still face 27 separate markets and sets of rules.** The absence of a functioning capital market has been raised as one of the obstacles to obtaining financing for companies and the movement of capital within the EU. Companies and industry associations are the best at opening up the challenges and necessary reforms that concern them.

It's easy for many companies to agree on major policy priorities, and they may not necessarily impact the business of individual companies. But the devil is in the details and that is where the problems often arise. The challenges are long preparatory processes and institutional negotiations, where small amendments can cause big problems in practice. These negotiations and decision-making processes can be challenging for individual companies and organizations to follow and keep up with.

**Will the new Commission focus on implementation of the avalanche of legislation the EU has passed, or will it start producing new proposals?**

**In the EU, several large legal packages have been issued during the current term, and the implementation is only at the beginning. Companies are adapting to the required changes**. This takes time.

**Another challenge for companies is that different laws may contain overlapping, and sometimes even conflicting, requirements.** The cumulative effects of the requirements can also be significant for some companies. One regulation here and another there, and suddenly the regulatory burden on companies is really heavy.

Industry associations and companies play a key role in clearing the regulatory jungle, as they have concrete information and insight into how different regulations affect and what should be clarified and perhaps dismantled completely. The **forest industry** is one example that is affected by dozens of different laws and regulations.

It will be interesting to see by what metrics Europe's success will be judged at the end of the next term. Will the number of legislative and policy initiatives in the Commission's work programme also be counted in the coming term? **All we know is that there will continue to be initiatives and changes affecting the business environment of companies. Companies should actively participate in the discussion in Brussels and build networks before they are needed. This is a perfect time for building relationships.**  

The EU and the internal market

The new Finnish Government led by Prime Minister Petteri Orpo has had a rocky start because of racism accusations. The Parliament starts the Autumn by handling an equality memorandum and vote(s) of confidence that are supposed to settle the situation. 

Next up will be the state budget for 2024 that includes proposals that will get the unions and third sector organisations on their back feet. The Parliament approves of the budget as its last task in December.

Thirdly, the semi-presidential Finland will have presidential elections in January 2024. Campaigning will get tougher the closer we get to the holiday season.

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