Before the This is Europe debate, Roberta Metsola, EP President, holds a bilateral meeting with Petteri Orpo, Prime Minister of Finland. Then, Prime Minister Orpo speaks to the European Parliament and outlines his vision for Europe’s challenges and future. This footage shows extracts from Prime Minister's arrival, the bilateral meeting, and the address to the plenary. This transcription is the result of an automatic process. Please check against delivery.

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

meeting

speech

METSOLA, Roberta (EPP, MT, EP President)

president's agenda

This is Europe Debate (T)

ORPO, Antti Petteri

This is Europe - Debate with Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister: meeting with Roberta METSOLA, EP President and extracts from the address to the plenary

Exterior shot, arrival of Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, and welcome by Roberta METSOLA, EP President. Strasbourg, France, 07/03/2024.

Interior shots, arrival of Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, and welcome by Roberta METSOLA, EP President. Strasbourg, France, 07/03/2024, (3 shots).

Interior shots, Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, and Roberta METSOLA, EP President, shake hands in front of European and Finnish flags. Strasbourg, France, 07/03/2024, (3 shots).

Interior shots, bilateral meeting with Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, and Roberta METSOLA, EP President. Strasbourg, France, 07/03/2024, (2 shot).

Interior shots in the chamber. Arrival of Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, and Roberta METSOLA, EP President. Strasbourg, France, 07/03/2024, (3 shots).

SOUNDBITE (English), Roberta METSOLA, EP President, Having a 1400 kilometre border with Russia, Finland is uniquely qualified to lead when it comes to Europe's security and defence. It also means that Finland has faced hybrid threats in recent weeks and months that have put pressure on our systems and we understand that our security architecture must be able to respond to the level of threat that our way of life is facing.

SOUNDBITE (English), Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, Our decision to join NATO is not one we took lightly. It was a clear signal of our commitment to European security.

SOUNDBITE (English), Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, The war in Ukraine has been a wake up call for all of us. They must never again be so reliant on others for our energy and security. We must take care of our own defence, ramping up our defence industry, improving our preparedness and strengthening our borders are critical pillars of our shared security architecture. We are living in the time where practically all policy fields are linked to our security, and without security, we cannot ensure the prosperous future for Europe.

SOUNDBITE (English), Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, The escalation of state aid competition threatens the very core of our single market. Such competition can lead to a race to the bottom, where countries with deeper pockets can unfairly support their domestic industries. The principle of the single market is founded on equal opportunities for all, not a fragmented landscape, walls are built on financial muscle, overshadows market dynamics. It is crucial that we restore the normal state aid rules.

SOUNDBITE (English), Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, Russia has weaponised migration to put pressure on Finland and the entire EU. Russia is pushing third country nationals towards our eastern land border. This is not acceptable.

SOUNDBITE (English), Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, There are hybrid attacks on our borders, hybrid attacks against the whole of Europe. Therefore, we need to evaluate our existing European legislation to see whether it is strong enough to tackle these challenges in its current state. If not, then we must consider updating it to better suit the time we are living in.

SOUNDBITE (English), Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, I say that every euro spent on Ukraine today is a low price compared to the alternative costs if Russia wins.

SOUNDBITE (English), Petteri ORPO, Finnish Prime Minister, Next, we need to deliver on ammunition reduction and agree on an additional funding for the European Peace Facility and Ukraine Assistance Fund as quickly as possible. Finland is doing its share. We have increased our ammunition production and I urge all Member States to do the same.