Prime Minister Orpo's Speech at Navigating Competitiveness Seminar on 2 October 2026

Prime Minister Orpo's Speech at Navigating Competitiveness Seminar on 2 October 2026

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo spoke at Navigating Competitiveness Seminar, organised by European Commission Representation in Finland, at Finlandia Hall on 2 October 2026. Check against delivery.

Executive Vice-President Virkkunen,
Dear friends,

Thank you to the Commission for bringing us together, and to everyone who has contributed to this morning's discussion.

My message today is simple. Europe can succeed. Finland has much to contribute. But we must become more determined about removing the obstacles we have created for ourselves.

Let me start with Finland.

We have every reason to be confident about our future. We have strong companies, excellent engineers and a society that works. And we have made a strategic choice that is now bringing investment to Finland.

We have stayed the course on the clean transition. We have invested in clean electricity. We are electrifying industry, transport and our society. We are reducing our dependence on fossil fuels.

The results are visible. Almost all the electricity we produce is fossil-free. Our electricity prices are among the lowest in Europe. This is a major competitive advantage.

Investment is following. New projects are moving forward in energy, industry and data centres. Last month Google announced that it would invest minimum 13 billion euros to new data centres in Northern Finland.

These investments bring jobs and new opportunities across Finland. They also show that the clean transition makes economic sense.

We must build on this advantage. Our task is to make investment easier, speed up permits and ensure that companies can find the skills they need. Investors must be able to trust the direction we have chosen.

There is a lesson here for Europe.

Fuel prices are rising again. Households and businesses feel the pressure. We must take that seriously. But another price shock is a reason to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels faster. It is no reason to abandon our strategy.

Europe would make a serious mistake by turning away from the clean transition. We would put investment at risk and prolong the dependencies that make us vulnerable.

Finland is showing what a more electrified economy can offer: cleaner production, competitive electricity and greater energy security. We should have the confidence to keep going.

The same confidence is needed in our wider economic policy.

Our security environment has changed deeply. Russia remains a long-term threat. Its war against Ukraine continues. Europe must take greater responsibility for its own defence and security.

At the same time, global economic competition is becoming tougher. Major powers are competing for investment, industrial capacity and control of critical technologies and raw materials. Economic dependencies can become instruments of pressure.

A competitive economy is essential to our security. We need growing businesses and a strong industrial base. They generate the resources to finance our defence and sustain our welfare societies.

In this technological age, we must also secure the capabilities on which our societies depend. Europe needs strength in AI, quantum technology, semiconductors and space. We need secure digital networks and access to critical materials.

Finland has much to contribute.

Nokia is delivering the networks that make AI possible. IQM and VTT show our strength in quantum computing. Years of research have produced working technology and international business opportunities.

ICEYE, mentioned also in President Von der Leyen's SOTEU Speech, shows what Finnish ambition can achieve in space. Its radar satellites can see through clouds and darkness. This capability supports security and helps us monitor infrastructure and respond to disasters.

These companies and technologies are part of Europe's answer to global competition.We must help them grow. That requires private capital and skilled people.

Above all, our companies need a home market large enough to support their ambitions.

This brings me to the Single Market.

We have discussed its barriers for years. We know the problems. Now we need to remove them.

A Finnish company should be able to grow across Europe without facing a new obstacle at every border. The same should be true for every European company.

Yet national requirements still make expansion difficult. Services face barriers. Capital markets remain fragmented. Different interpretations of common rules create uncertainty and extra costs.

These are obstacles we have created ourselves. We have the power to remove them.

The Commission must use that power firmly. It must challenge unjustified national barriers and enforce the rules we have agreed. I encourage the Commission to be ambitious. Finland will support determined action to strengthen the Single Market.

Member states must take responsibility too.

Around the European table, every government has an exemption to defend. Each exception may seem small. Together, they hold Europe back.

We cannot protect every national arrangement and expect a fully functioning European market. Some things will have to change.

As Prime Minister, my duty is to defend Finland's interests. A stronger European Single Market is one of those interests. We all gain when European companies can invest, compete and grow across borders - instead of first and foremost seeking funding from American pensioners.

The European Council must keep its attention on delivery. We need clear deadlines. We need to know which barriers have been removed. And we must protect fair competition. Success should depend on the strength of a business and innovation, not the size of its government's subsidy budget.

The same determination is needed to cut bureaucracy.

I welcome the Commission's work on simplification. I encourage it to go further. Companies need fewer overlapping reporting obligations, clearer rules and faster decisions.

National governments must do their part. We cannot demand less bureaucracy in Brussels and add more at home.

Europe already has a powerful example of what we can achieve together: trade policy.

When we negotiate as one, we carry weight. We can open markets and secure opportunities that no member state could achieve alone.

The Commission deserves credit for its work on Mercosur and India. The Mercosur trade agreement is now being provisionally applied. Negotiations with India have been concluded. These are major achievements.

We must turn these agreements into real opportunities for our companies. And we need more of this ambition. New trade partnerships create growth and help us diversify our supply chains.

We also need a clear common approach to China.

We must address unfair competition, unequal market access and dangerous dependencies. European companies need a fair chance to compete. We should also consider where a European preference could strengthen our security and industrial capacity. It must serve a clear purpose and support a competitive, open European economy.

The Commission needs the backing of member states in this work. Our common position loses force if each capital pursues its own separate arrangement.

Dear friends,

Finland's experience gives me confidence. We have chosen a direction. We have continued with it. Investment is coming, and our companies are building technologies that Europe needs.

Europe can achieve much more with the same determination.

We must stay the course on the clean transition. We must strengthen our technological capabilities and open new markets. And we must finally remove the barriers within our own market.

The Commission should act boldly. Member states must give it support and follow through at home.

A stronger Europe is in every member state's national interest.

Thank you.