The Finnish business community does not yet fully understand how crucial it is to seek influence over EU decision-making in Brussels, says Member of the European Parliament Aura Salla. She offers companies practical tips on how to improve their lobbying efforts. She also urges companies with a clear message: risk financing is now available, so apply for an InvestEU loan guarantee.

Finnish companies are too often weak at lobbying for their interests in the EU, says Aura Salla, who is serving her first term as an MEP in Brussels. A member of the National Coalition Party and the European People’s Party (EPP), Salla focuses in particular on technology, defense, and dismantling unnecessary EU regulation. 

Aura Salla, who is serving her first term as an MEP in Brussels, is known for her work on technology and defense, and dismantling unnecessary EU regulation. 

“EU decision-making and the opportunities it enables are poorly understood in Finland. When companies come to lobby, they haven’t done their homework. They often don’t know what is currently happening in the EU, and their lobbying lacks a sharp edge – what it is they actually want to influence,” Salla says.

She highlights Italy and Germany as masters of lobbying.

“Italy gets things through very effectively because they have professional lobbyists, companies understand the importance of gathering information in advance, and networks are built tightly. Germans are also highly skilled and efficient in this. Finnish companies, instead, tell decision-makers that the situation is difficult. But we already know that – we understand the operating environments. Instead of situation analysis, companies should be concrete and choose a precise focus: what exactly they want to influence and what they want to change.”

How to improve lobbying efforts

Aura Salla has a long work history in Brussels. Before her term in the European Parliament, she worked within the EU for years, including in the cabinet of Vice-President Jyrki Katainen and as an adviser in the in-house advisory service of Jean-Claude Juncker, the former president of the European Commission. She subsequently worked at Meta as the head of EU affairs and public policy. 

Salla’s first piece of advice to companies is: always hire a professional lobbyist. Small companies can do this together as a coalition. Her second piece of advice is: know the EU’s current topics and decision-making processes. Barriers to growth can only be influenced if one makes the effort to understand the current state of legislation and how it is progressing.

The third suggestion concerns opportunities that Finnish companies, in Salla’s view, still do not recognize well enough.

“Brussels is not a necessary evil – the EU is worth knowing inside out. You can influence things here, regulations are dismantled here, and major decisions are made here. Companies are used to trying to influence decision-makers in Finland. So I wonder why they are not active at the EU level in Brussels.”

At present, funding opportunities are available for companies. Salla served as the chief negotiator for the InvestEU loan guarantee program, which the European Parliament approved recently. The program enables at least €55 billion in private investments to be mobilized across Europe. In addition, it secured €2.9 billion in additional guarantees and eased reporting requirements for SMEs.

The program is a loan guarantee scheme that has been used to finance growth-oriented companies in Europe for over 10 years. In Finland, for example, Swappie received €17 million last year to expand its circular economy business.

Salla is now encouraging companies to apply for InvestEU financing.

“Risk financing must be brought to Europe. I don’t believe in direct company subsidies, but loan guarantees are a smart use of the EU budget. This won’t solve the problem, but it is a way to get private capital moving. My message to companies is simple: risk financing is now available, so go to your bank and apply for this loan guarantee.”

In pursuit of technological sovereignty

In the field of technology, Salla advocates European sovereignty and calls for disengagement from Microsoft. Europe’s technological dependence on the United States is a significant risk that must be addressed, she says.

“I often hear that we already lost this game and that Europe should have acted 10 years ago. And we should have – but that doesn’t mean nothing can be solved anymore. The reality is that U.S. companies could, on any given day, cut off our access to things like email and other critical infrastructure. That’s why Europe must rely on European technology. It’s protectionist, but there is no other way.”

Listeds’ Brussels Briefings is a series of articles in which decision-makers and experts in Brussels discuss current issues and share their insights with Nordic companies.