What Katri spoke about.

Mr President, thank you to President Niinistö for his report on improving Europe's crisis preparedness. I dare to say that history and geography have taught us Finns to prepare for many kinds of crisis conditions, and traditionally, both as families and as a nation, they have always wanted to prepare for a bad day, as the saying goes. An example in Finland is the Act on Security of Supply and, as part of central government, the National Emergency Supply Agency. It takes care of the planning and operational operation of the country's security of supply, first and foremost through comprehensive security, covering medicines, food, energy and regional contingency plans together with local authorities. It is important that Europeans understand the holistic nature of security. It's not just military. We need to strengthen our critical infrastructure and improve Europe's independence in all areas of society so that, in the event of unexpected crises, we are finally better prepared. The report provides excellent tools for this.

Mr President, bureaucracy paralyses competitiveness in the EU and weakens us in the global market. According to the Draghi's report, over 60 % of the enterprises in the EU consider the regulation an obstacle to investments, and over half of the small and medium-sized enterprises consider regulation and administrative burden to be their biggest challenge. We have lagged behind the United States in this matter, and if we don't deregulate, the split will evolve. For example, in the field of technology, only four of the world's 50 largest technology companies are European. Usually, the governments and even the Commission always want less bureaucracy. But then nothing happens. Quite the contrary. I believe it is more a question of culture and a way of doing things. Do we offer the businesses a possibility to prosper or do we regulate them out of business?

Mr President, the cornerstone of the welfare state is the very widely accepted progressive taxation. You pay taxes and receive high-quality public services in return, which you can also seek to decide on democratically in public duties. It is very important that taxation continues to be a national competence. But there is a huge need for international cooperation in tax evasion, exchange of information and the large-scale collection of taxes in general. Taxes are also very important in terms of inequality in society. In particular, economic, social or regional inequalities between people and regions also create a basis for the growth of various extremist movements. That is why tax policy must also take care of the overall integrity of society, and for that it works very well when used smartly. A sound tax policy will generate economic growth that can even out harmful inequalities. Above all, our continent needs prosperous, sustainable economic growth. A bad tax policy prevents it, a good one makes it possible.