 Hello, everyone. My name is Erika, I'm CEO Slush, and I'm here with a special guest, so Sanna Marie, the Prime Minister of Finland. Thank you so much for coming here today, Sanna. Thank you so much, Erika. I'm so happy to be here. I'm so excited that we have this great event, Slush, in Finland that gives opportunity to new startups and also founders, investors to meet and create new things. I'm so excited. Thanks. We're excited as well. So we'll be discussing the concept of strategic autonomy in the European context and also the role of governments in creating an environment for innovation. But should we start with sort of a warmer question? So you've been in your position for three years now as a Prime Minister, and I would guess that the past years haven't looked like exactly expected. So how would you describe the past few years for yourself and for Europe? The past few years has been years of crisis. First, when I started as a Prime Minister in 2019, in December, the COVID pandemic came through and swiped the whole world, so it's been filled with crises. COVID, of course, touched everyone's life in many different ways. We have to put many things in our societies. We have to close many things in our societies that we never thought that we would have to do. And the situation was very severe and still is. The pandemic hasn't gone anywhere. And after the pandemic, the war came. So Europe is now in war, something that we didn't want to see, but this is the reality, what is happening right now. And then the energy crisis. And now we're looking forward and hopefully not, but it might be that there might be economic crisis as well coming up. So we have lived through many crises, but I think we will still survive these crises and be more stronger afterwards. Yes, that is definitely true. You've actually recently said that the past few years have proven Europe's ability to act on crises, but also they revealed some vulnerabilities. So should we set up the scene with this? So what do you specifically mean with the strategic autonomy of Europe? And what is that an important topic to discuss right now? Well, as you mentioned, these big challenges that we have faced has shown us our vulnerabilities. And I think this should be a learning point for Europe and for the whole world that we should build our own strategic autonomy and our own capabilities when it comes to the critical issues. When the pandemic hit us, we saw how dependent we were on medicine and also medical applies, for example, the imports from Asian countries, especially China. So we were too vulnerable. And at the beginning, that really caused us a lot of trouble. We didn't have, for example, mask or other gear that we needed for our healthcare workers and for the people to keep them safe. This was a great vulnerability and we had to put up our own production very fast. And actually, we worked in Finland very closely with companies to do this. And of course, the same situation was in all of Europe. So that showed that one vulnerability. And now we are in war in Europe and we are seeing how heavily this hits not only Ukraine, but all of Europe because of energy. We are too dependent on Russian energy and this is causing us a lot of trouble. We should cut these dependencies once and for all, but of course, it takes time. It doesn't happen overnight. But this shows us a great vulnerability in Europe. And this, of course, has a big economic impact as well. We have to put a lot of money to new investments, especially to renewables and other energy sources right now that we can make sure that we will cope this winter and the upcoming winters. But it causes a lot of money and we weren't prepared of doing this so fast. And also, one vulnerability is defense capabilities. We cannot be dependent as European Union the help that we are now receiving. And thank God the United States are so involved in the situation in Ukraine, but we cannot be so dependent on the help of others, United States or other countries. We should build up our own capabilities as well and be better partners to the States in NATO and otherwise. And also, we are seeing how the energy crisis influence or impacts food security in the world. So there's another vulnerability there. So if I would collect all the vulnerabilities that we have seen during the crisis, there are the medicines, the medical supplies, vaccines as well. Then energy, food, clean water, these are vulnerabilities that we have to make sure that we can in every situation make sure that our citizens have the capabilities to access these goods and necessities that we all need. And then the defense capabilities that we need. But another one, and this is a crucial one, then this is something that I really want to discuss today. It's about the future and actually it's about today. And it's the digital capabilities, the technological capabilities that we are depending right now. Our societies are digitalized and will be even more so in the future. Our societies will be totally digitalized. And if we don't build these capabilities beforehand right now and make sure that we are investing in new technologies in digital solutions in Europe, together with the public sector and the private sector, then we will create vulnerability that will be a crucial one in the future if there would be a crisis concerning this. So this is something that I want to highlight the know-how, the knowledge, the technological capabilities that we should have and make sure that we are not making the same mistakes with technology that we have made with energy that we have made with medical supplies and that we have made in many other areas. Yes, I think we are in a right place to discuss, especially the technology part right here. So as you said, you want to focus on the future and I guess that the audience and I as well, we share an optimistic view of the future of Europe. So what should we focus on next to make sure that we don't make the same mistakes in the front of technology? Well, I think the starting point should be that we should be very open, we should be very open and honest to notice what are the mistakes that we have made. If we cannot make this knowledge of ourselves that where we have made mistakes, then we cannot learn. So first of all, we have to look at the world, we have to look at the situation and say, we made mistake in energy, we are too dependent on Russia. This is causing us a lot of problems and it's causing us a lot of money as well. So that was a mistake and now we have to learn from it. Now we have to do something else. Now we have to build our own capabilities when it comes to energy production and also make sure that we have all the great their story technologies and that we are working together as European countries, we are grading new energy market in Europe. So we have to look about the situation very honestly and say, we made mistakes, now we will learn from it and now we'll do something else. Now we will fix the situation and learn from it. So this is the starting point. But I really worry right now that not every European country is on the same page with this. I understand that especially to politicians, it might be a bit hard and also everybody else. It might be a bit hard to say, I made a mistake. I thought the situation differently. And for example, when we look at the energy situation about Russia and the connections that Europe and Russia has about energy, there was a logic there. There was logic why we built these close and tight connections with Russia, Germany and others as well, Finland as well. We thought that creating these very close connections, economic connections, energy connections, we would prevent war. It would cost too much. So there wouldn't be a war, there wouldn't be conflicts because our tides would be so tight economically and also otherwise that it would cost too much. So it was an act of peace. But we didn't notice that the Russian logic don't think like we do. They don't think like we do. And this is something that we should learn. Our Polish friends, our Baltic friends, they were right. They thought and said all along that Russia thinks differently. Their logic is different than ours. And we should have listened to them. But we have to look at the situation now and say, we were wrong, our logic was different. It was logical, but it was different than the Russian ones. And we should learn about the situation. And I really worry about this technology part because I fear that we are making the same mistakes with technology, with digital solutions, also with all the natural materials that we need to build these technologies. And I want to make sure and discuss in the European Union and with our democratic partners that we should cooperate more. We should make sure that we have these trading routes and all the critical issues solved within the democratic countries, cooperation with democratic countries and not be dependent on authoritative regimes. That's logic is very different from us. Could you give us an example of a mistake we're about to make in terms of our digital solutions? About technological solutions. Well, we are seeing already, we have vulnerabilities here. Let's be honest, we have vulnerabilities already. For example, when we're looking about chips or semiconductors, we are too dependent. We are too dependent on Taiwan. We are too dependent on specific sources. So we have to versatile. We have to, first of all, these sources. We have to make sure that different democratic countries, companies are building their capabilities and that they are investing in Europe, that they are investing in United States, that they are investing in different democratic countries. Also, in Asia, Japan, South Korea, India, then we're looking at the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand. We have partners, we have the countries and we have the capabilities. But we have to make sure that we are now investing and we have to invest right now because these capabilities aren't built overnight. It takes time. If we want to build, for example, production facilities for semiconductors, I think that takes about 10 years to be top notch. So it doesn't happen overnight. And we have to make sure that we are investing now in energy and we are investing now in new technologies. We are investing now in production. We are investing now in new innovations because there are also new technologies coming up, such as, or they're not even new now, but they are, of course, been building right now. AI or quantum mechanics, quantum technologies, these are the new ones. And we have to make sure that we have the capabilities and the knowledge to build these technologies and not be dependent on China, not be dependent on other countries that have different logic than democratic countries have. And it doesn't mean I don't mean that we should cut all trade or that we should cut all ties, economic ties. I don't mean that. I only mean that we have to make sure that we are not vulnerable, that we are not, that no authoritarian countries could blackmail us, like Russia is doing now with energy. We shouldn't put ourselves in that position where authoritarian regimes could blackmail democratic countries by saying that, okay, then we will make sure that you won't get any semiconductors or chips or any other crucial materials that you need for your economies to work. We shouldn't put ourselves in that position, and that's why it's so important right now to discuss about the European strategic autonomy and also the vulnerabilities and also what we should learn from the crises that we have faced and make sure that we are smarter in the future and that we have this capabilities to face crises. Yeah, the audience seems to agree. Yeah, so you mentioned collaboration on the EU level earlier to make all this happen, but I think we often run to the same challenge. So EU is a complexity, 27 member states. So how do we ensure that we get all of the member states on the same page to work together? Well, this is the million dollar question. How can we make sure that we as European countries that are different, we have different cultures, we have different backgrounds, we have different languages? How can we make sure that we are on the same page that we are noticing the situation and how severe it is and making sure that we will make the right decisions right now for the future? This is the million dollar question, but actually we have already started the discussion. Just last European Council, we have very good strategic discussion about China and the vulnerabilities that we have. We are not, I will be honest, we are not on the same page yet. We are not on the same page yet, but I was positively surprised how many countries, majority of the countries saw these vulnerabilities and said that we should make sure that we won't put ourselves in the same position that we have put ourselves with Russia. So I see hope there, I see hope there, but we have to continue discussing about the topic and at the same time make sure that we will work together. It doesn't mean that we would cut economic ties with, for example, China or some other country right now. Of course, with Russia we should cut all economic ties right now and make sure that they will lose the war and we should get those troops out of Ukraine as fast as possible because it's also causing us so much in Ukraine human lives, but elsewhere, it's causing us a lot of money. But it doesn't mean that we would cut all economic ties, for example, with China, but we have to make sure that we are investing. We are investing right now in new technologies and digital solutions in green transition that we will put our money where our mouth is. We are discussing about digital transformation. We are discussing about green transformation. We are discussing these important issues, but we have to make sure that we are also making the work, that we are also making the smart investments that will help us in the future. And we need cooperation. We need cooperation because it's only smart. It's only smart to cooperate, to work together. For example, Finland, we have the top notch, top edge technologies concerning AI or 6G or 5G technologies. We have Nokia, for example. We have been building our own quantum computer and we have great technologies and great know-how and great knowledge, but we as a small country of only over 5 million people, we are using this much money. So little because we are a small country and Germany, for example, is using this much money or you don't see it on the... There, I will show it like this. This much money, Finland, this, Germany, this, but they are not producing, I would say, as Finnish Prime Minister. They are not producing as good quality technologies that Finland is, so we should use those resources together, put our minds together and make sure that together we would create these high tech solutions for all the European countries and for all the democratic countries. And we should work with the United States as well and other democratic partners to make sure that we will win the race when it comes to new technologies. And let's be frank, there is a race. There is a competition. There is a geopolitical issue there. There is a race between, for example, China and democratic countries. There is a race between China and United States and we have to make sure that we are winning. Yes, definitely. Yes, so to move the race, we win the race, we need to a environment that allows innovation. So let's move on to the role of governments in creating that environment. So I'd like to ask from the perspective of Finland that what should we do to create an optimal environment for innovation and also how is that visible in your government's policies right now? Well, actually, this is one of the key issues that we are focusing on and I'm very proud to say that we have a parliamentary and agreement to raise our research, development and innovation funding up to 4% of our GDP by 2030. And that is very, very inspiring and also very ambitious target for Finland. I don't think that there are many countries in the world that are using 4% of GDP to R&D and innovation. So this is a great target and we have a parliamentary agreement. So not only the government, but also the opposition shares this goal and that means that we have the site to the future also for the companies, also for the private sector to invest as well because we cannot make this ourselves. The government or the states cannot make this ourselves. We need partnership, we need the private sector, we need the companies, we need the businesses, we need all the key players in the society to work on this target. And we have worked together also with the private sector and actually two-thirds of the money are coming from the private sector and this is why it's so important that we have this broad political understanding, parliamentary understanding about the goal so that the private sector and the companies can rely that this doesn't shift or change when the government changes, when we have elections. So I think this is one of the things that I'm very proud of, that we have this understanding and that we have a clear target, clear goal and if European countries would use 4% of our GDPs to research development and innovation, the European situation would look very different. Then we would win the race. Yeah, definitely. And I also think that talking from the perspective of startups, we also need dialogue between regulators and the startup ecosystem as those both function fundamentally differently. So what do you think, how successful are we in that dialogue in Finland and how could we improve? Well, I think we could always do better. I think we have, because Finland is a small country, so all the key players know each other. That's the strength that we have. We can gather around in the same room and actually when I go outside and be in the public library or in the street or jogging or go to the supermarket or whatever, people are always so happy that we live in a country where you can see the prime minister in a public library like everybody else. So we are a small country and we are very down to earth and you can meet the politicians, you can meet the CEOs of companies and you can meet all the key players in the society in ordinary atmospheres. So we have a good ground for cooperation, for discussing different matters, to know each other. And I think this is a great strength for Finland and also other Nordic countries, but we could do more. We should do more. And I'm so happy about Schlage as an event because this is one platform that enables and gives the startups that are source of innovation. You are creating new things, that's amazing. So this is one platform where we can meet, where we can discuss, where we can create new ideas, new innovations. I'm sure that there are many startups here that will meet and actually create something together. You have your own ideas already, you have your own products already, you have your own apps already, but when you meet, when you discuss, you can create something new, something bigger, something more interesting. So I think that when we discuss together, when we meet, when we cooperate, that always creates possibilities for new innovation and for new amazing things. Definitely. I think we have time for one final question. So let's fast forward 10 years. What's your vision for the Finnish and European startup ecosystem? How does it look like and what's its role in tech ecosystem? Well, I think I should ask you the question from Schlage. What is your vision for the startups? I would say my vision for the whole society is that Finland has created itself. We are still a welfare state, but we are a welfare state that is green, that is digital, that is on the edge of new technologies that has a lot of possibilities, that is a success story. This is what I want to see as a society and we need the startups also to make this happen. We need the new innovations, we need the new ideas, we need new things in our society to make sure that we will not only manage and survive, but that we would thrive and that we would succeed as well. And I want to see a society where every child can become anything and in a society that is green, that is sustainable also from the climate and environmental perspective. And I think this is also a key issue when we look at our competitiveness. I think the countries that will make this transformation and change earlier will be the ones that will have the best competitiveness also in the world. Yes, that is definitely so. So thank you, Sanna. This has been a really, really interesting conversation and I want to once more thank you for joining us today. I want to thank the audience for joining to hear us today. I hope you have a good day. Thank you so much, Erika, and thank you that you are here. It's so nice to see you. Islash.