EK: Billions of EU funding may flow from Finland – “Icy momentum”

In the EU budget debate, Finland focuses too much on agricultural subsidies and too little on where future growth will come from.

This is how you rate Go to Helleled by The Confederation of Business demands a completely new strategy from Finland to repatriate the EU’s competitive funding. A total of hundreds of billions of euros are available in the new competitiveness fund.

EK’s goal is to at least double the competitive EU funding that Finland receives to more than 10 billion euros in the years 2028–2034.

The new competitiveness fund in connection with the future multiannual financial framework proposed by the Commission is a total of around 450 billion euros. The amount may still decrease in the ongoing budget negotiations, but the fund’s priorities – defense, resilience, new technologies and innovations – fall into Finland’s areas of strength.

“They are like our wet naps,” says Helle.

According to EK’s CEO, however, in the Finnish debate, too much attention is focused on receiving EU direct subsidies, especially agricultural funding.

“I’m a little worried that politicians talk mostly about what’s happening to agricultural subsidies.”

Agricultural subsidies are national direct income, while competitiveness funding keeps the companies and researchers themselves winning at home.

According to Helte, Finland should look much more closely at the growing competitiveness financing.

Yield to be increased

In the current funding period, Finland is receiving competitive EU funding of approximately 4.7 billion euros. EK believes that the yield can be increased to around 10 billion euros.

Finland’s current yield has been 2.8 percent from the Horizon Europe program and five percent from the innovation fund. Overall, the share has been around three percent.

Now EK is aiming to increase Finland’s share of the financing of the new competitiveness fund to 3.5 percent.

“It’s a really ambitious goal, but not impossible at all,” Helle assesses.

Finns lost millions of EU money

However, according to EK, the biggest obstacle is not the lack of funding in Brussels, but Finland’s own structures.

According to EK’s report, due to the lack of one million euros, the company may not receive 10 million because there is no national partial financing.

According to the information Kauppalehti received from government sources, the lack of domestic partial funding has led to the loss of millions of euros in EU money. The challenge of finding domestic money is created by Finland’s adjustment pressures.

In EK’s survey, companies did not consider lack of information or the quality of advisory services to be the biggest problem. The biggest criticism was aimed at the fact that national funding, counseling and EU funding do not form a functioning whole.

The current system is also described as difficult to understand.

According to Helte, it is precisely these problems that Finland needs to address.

Elsewhere we know how

EK’s report also shows that Sweden and the Netherlands manage project sets better than Finland.

According to Helte, Finland is lagging behind especially in strategic guidance. For example, Sweden guides the utilization of EU funding with a national strategy, coordinates research and innovation activities on a permanent basis, and supports participation with preparatory funding and applicant services.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, links its national priorities to EU funding and supports participation with a strong national investment.

According to Helte, the common denominator for both countries is that operations are managed goal-oriented.

“They have a strategic revenue angle that Finland lacks.”

According to Helte, it means that the priorities have been thought about in advance and the types of funding applications are actively influenced.

According to Helte, Finland’s problem is fragmented structures.

“Functions and support services are too scattered, and the companies are a bit tight-lipped because of that.”

Influence often starts too late in Finland.

Helle says that success in project funding is often decided before the actual applications start. Therefore, Finland should influence the contents and priorities of the programs at a much earlier stage than at present.

According to Helte, Finland’s presence in Brussels needs to be strengthened and acted in a more coordinated manner than at present.

According to him, the problem is not necessarily the amount of resources but their fragmentation.

“The most important thing is that we act in the same direction and in a coordinated manner.”

A demand for the board

The central proposal of the EK is a national strategy to be drawn up under the leadership of the government, the goal of which would be to double the yield of competitive EU funding. The strategy should come together Business Finlandministries, Academy of Finland, Thesiscompanies, organizations and Finnish networks operating in Brussels.

“These should all work together.”

According to Helte, the goal should also be recorded in the next government program.

It’s about raising the level of ambition that Helle, who was elected CEO of EK last spring, wants to pursue.

“We shouldn’t remain in the back row in the EU, but boldly take forward the things that move Finland forward.”

“We have an incredible momentum, and we mustn’t waste it,” says Helle.