Riikka Purra, the Finance Minister of Finland, believes that Europe’s biggest challenge is not insufficient public funding or its misallocation. She emphasizes the importance of mobilizing private funding to boost Europe’s economy rather than solely relying on public investments. During a meeting in Brussels, Purra highlighted the need for Europe to be an attractive destination for companies to invest in by addressing overregulation and licensing barriers.
However, Purra and Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo opposed a proposal by former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta to establish a new state aid assistance mechanism to boost competitiveness investments in the EU. The ministers discussed the economic and financial impacts of the war in Ukraine and approved a plan to utilize aid through the Ukraine Support Facility. Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhi Martshenko joined the meeting remotely, expressing the country’s need for funding and urging the EU to consider using Russia’s frozen funds to support Ukraine.
As European Parliament elections approach, Purra shared her party’s goal of maintaining their current representation in Parliament. Basic Finns belong to the ECR group and have expressed opposition to Hungary’s Fidesz joining the group due to differences in their political ideologies and actions taken by Fidesz, such as blocking EU support for Ukraine. Despite these challenges and discussions at EU meetings, Purra remains optimistic about progress being made and emphasizes sustainable solutions are necessary when addressing various economic and financial issues facing Europe.
