“Wood construction, biofuels, wood-based textile fibres, chemicals and a range of high-value-added forest products are the growth sectors of the future,” believes Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn.
Olli Rehn, Governor of the Bank of Finland and a former Vice-President of the European Commission, wants to spark a debate on introducing special provisions on forests. The treaties that form the basis of EU law currently make no mention of forests.
“The European Union adopts a great many pieces of legislation that affect forests and their use, yet the EU has no common forest policy, nor any clear legal basis relating to forests,” Rehn says.
“Although forests are an extremely important natural resource, both for Finland and for Europe as a whole, playing a major role in both the economy and the preservation of natural values, decisions affecting forests are made within the framework of other policy areas,” Olli Rehn notes in an interview with the news agency Audiomedia.
He draws attention to the fact that many European Commission initiatives relating to forests are grounded in EU competence in the field of environmental or climate policy: “Forest policy is being shaped indirectly. On paper, national competence over forest policy looks strong, but in practice forests are governed by environmental rules. That can easily lead to a situation where the economic aspects that matter to Finland and other heavily forested countries receive less attention.”
From 2004 to 2009, Olli Rehn served as EU Commissioner for Enlargement in the Commission led by J. M. Barroso, and from 2010 to 2014 as Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the Euro. In that later period, he also held the post of Vice-President of the European Commission.
According to Rehn, during his time as European Commissioner, forests were still viewed from the perspective of environmental policy, agricultural and forestry policy, and industrial policy.
“That fitted the principle of sustainability, which seeks to reconcile ecological, economic and social goals,” Rehn tells Audiomedia. His proposed solution to this problem is to include a special provision - a “forest article” - in the EU treaties. Rehn opened the debate on such an article in an opinion piece in the newspaper Maaseudun Tulevaisuus this March, together with Reijo Kemppinen, a former Director-General of the Council of Europe.
## A strategic resource for Europe
According to Rehn, too little attention has been paid to the importance of forests for the economy, industry, energy systems and regional development: “Forests should be viewed comprehensively, as a strategic resource. A ‘forest article’ would ensure that the various roles and aspects associated with forests are taken into account in a more balanced way.” He stresses that he is not proposing a “forest article” as a way of diminishing national competence or creating a new, centralised EU forest policy.
Olli Rehn sees this provision as a tool for creating a framework in which forests are recognised as a specific strategic entity: “A ‘forest article’ would mean that forests are taken into account as broadly as possible when EU decisions are being prepared. They would be regarded as a strategic resource, balancing economic, industrial and environmental perspectives.”
“The debate on updating forest policy is also timely because EU enlargement and the further development of the Union's functional capacity will, in the coming years, most likely require a revision of the treaties. If the treaties are going to be amended in any case, the question of forests should be discussed at the same time.”
Rehn stresses that the debate on forests cannot be separated from the question of preserving Europe's competitiveness: “There is currently a broad debate under way in Europe about the weakening of its industrial competitiveness compared with the US and China. From Finland's point of view, forestry and the forest industry are part of the solution, not the problem.” It's worth recalling that Olli Rehn represents Europe's most heavily forested country.
“This is a story about whether we see forests primarily as a restrictive environmental issue, or as a key resource for the green transition, the bioeconomy and industrial competitiveness in Europe,” says Olli Rehn.
## Climate policy should not focus solely on carbon sinks
Rehn wants to single out climate policy in particular as an area that affects the use of forests and their place within the EU. He stresses that the main cause of climate change is the use of fossil resources. Rehn takes a cautious view of policies that rely mainly on restricting the volume of tree felling to meet climate targets.
Rehn points to the replacement of fossil resources with wood-based materials, noting that this substitution effect is often overshadowed by the debate over carbon sinks (areas suited to carbon sequestration): “If wood is used in construction, textiles, the chemical industry or energy production, it can replace fossil raw materials and reduce emissions in other sectors of the economy. This perspective has been pushed into the background in EU debates.”
In Olli Rehn's view, Europe should treat its forests with the same seriousness as it treats critical minerals, energy or technological know-how: “Forests are a strategic and critically important resource. They strengthen Europe's economic and social resilience, provide renewable raw materials and support regional development.”
“This ties in with the debate over Europe's strategic autonomy. Given the EU's efforts to reduce dependence on fossil resources and imported raw materials, the importance of wood as a raw material could grow considerably. At the same time, forests offer an opportunity to build a European bioeconomy grounded in our own natural resources.”