Mr Harri Airaksinen spoke to EU MEPs: Our defense industry and chip expertise have much to offer all of Europe

The new Finnish Members of the European Parliament met Mr. Harri Airaksinen, Director of the Pirkanmaa EU Office, and other regional representatives. The MEPs, along with their assistants, were informed about Pirkanmaa’s strengthened expertise, which contributes to national discussions on current key topics, such as Europe’s success in the fierce technological competition against the United States and Asia, as well as strengthening EU defense. The green transition and clean energy were also high on the agenda.

Mr. Airaksinen presented the current state of Tampere region and Pirkanmaa’s business sector to Eero Heinäluoma, Elsi Katainen, Ville Niinistö, Maria Ohisalo, Sebastian Tynkkynen, and their assistants.

“The MEPs delivered a strong message that investments in research, development, and innovation will play a significant role in the agenda of the upcoming Commission. To secure EU funding, national co-financing is always required, and we must ensure it is guaranteed. This means lobbying efforts are needed both in Brussels and Helsinki,” Airaksinen summarized the key points of the morning.

“The recently published Mario Draghi competitiveness report, which makes for grim reading, also naturally came up. According to the report, Europe should continuously invest an additional €800 billion to catch up with the United States and China.”

“It has already been commented today that European political decision-making may not be able to rise to this challenge. The task ahead is significant. Let us ensure we do our part as best as we can.”