The Draghi report calls for specific changes. Which would you prioritise and want to see happen now?
Jeannette Baljeu: My first priority is the internal market. Europe still acts like 27 separate markets instead of one. Businesses that want to grow across borders run into different interpretations of the same rules and red tape. This puts our businesses at a disadvantage. The European Commission is right to focus on the biggest barriers in the internal market, the so-called ‘Terrible Ten’, but all three institutions need to treat this with urgency. My priority would be for all three institutions to step up their cooperation and commit to removing those barriers one by one, including a taskforce of the institutions that tracks the progress.
Marco Eikelenboom: We strongly believe that the pulp and paper industry, as the cornerstone of Europe's emerging bioeconomy, is a critical engine to delivering the EU's green growth and industrial resilience. An immediate priority must be to bring the Bioeconomy Strategy to life, ensuring a harmonised legislative approach that offers the necessary flexibility for biobased industries to remain competitive, to scale, and to navigate increasingly challenging operating environments. Regulatory overlaps, legal uncertainty, high energy costs, and burdensome administrative barriers should be avoided. It's about stable policy frameworks that recognise our existing strengths to make long-term investment decisions, position our bio-based products, and be certain of consistent regulations and fair market conditions.
How can EU sustainability legislation maintain ambition while ensuring energy-intensive industries like pulp and paper remain competitive in Europe?
JB: If we want European companies to invest in cleaner production, there must be demand for those products. That means we need a market for sustainable products. At the same time, we should build a true European circular economy, instead of exporting resources and importing dependency. The Circular Economy Act should help us do both: reward sustainable production and keep strategic value chains in Europe.
Europe must create a strong business case for low-carbon, circular production across all its future policies and implementation of existing legislation - Marco Eikelenboom
ME: Europe must create a strong business case for low-carbon, circular production across all its future policies and implementation of existing legislation, given that the bioeconomy accounted for 5% of the EU's GDP in 2023 and offers a €6.6 trillion opportunity. The bioeconomy is harnessing locally grown, renewable biological resources to drive economic growth and must be on top of the agenda. Demand certainty is a decisive factor for businesses to scale; hence, EU sustainability legislation should help accelerate uptake and incentivise sustainable innovation. Whether it’s through lead markets, the Biotech Act II, the Circular Economy Act or any of the wealth of regulatory tools, funding or demand-side mechanisms, Europe’s vision of inclusive and sustainable leadership must be delivered hand-in-hand with a strong manufacturing base.
How does the Action Plan for Affordable Energy and the European Grids Package help address Europe’s high energy costs?
JB: The first step towards more affordable energy: produce more of our own energy. As long as we remain dependent on others for our energy, our prices will stay vulnerable to geopolitical shocks. In 2024, the EU produced 43% of its own energy, with renewables accounting for 20%. More domestic clean energy means more stability and lower costs. But production alone is not enough. We need a stronger grid to get energy to where it is needed. I believe the Grids Package will help connect countries better, reduce bottlenecks and make our electricity system more resilient.
ME: Sappi welcomes these measures and the Clean Energy Investment Strategy, all intended to boost clean energy deployment, lower energy costs and remove cross-border barriers. Mobilising capital to upgrade energy grids, expand and integrate renewables, and invest in flexible low-carbon technologies is important to ensure that the electricity market design is moving in the right direction, as it is not currently delivering for industrial flexibility providers. Grid congestion and limited connection capacity continue to block industrial participation. For instance, flexibility projects are often halted because grid availability is insufficient or connection costs are too high. Congestion management is not functioning efficiently; therefore, it’s also critical to strengthen flexibility tools to stabilise the system. Sappi has been investing in electrification of industrial processes, so we appreciate the Commission's acknowledgement that this must be complemented by parallel efforts to strengthen storage and demand side responses, as well as modernise network infrastructure and system integration.
The first step towards more affordable energy: produce more of our own energy - MEP Jeannette Baljeu
What do you believe is the biggest threat coming from outside the EU?
JB: Before looking outside, Europe should first look inside. Our biggest vulnerability is how fragmented we still are and how dependent we remain on others, especially for energy. Recent tensions in the Middle East show how quickly that can hit our economy. If we want to stand strong in a tougher world, we need a strong European economy. That starts with removing barriers that make it hard for businesses to grow across European borders. An entrepreneur should be able to scale up from Rotterdam to Milan as easily as within one country. As long as capital, goods and services do not move freely inside the EU, we are holding ourselves back, while the United States and China move fast. External threats are real, but the first answer is internal strength: a Europe that is less dependent and where businesses can grow, invest and compete.
ME: Given today's increasingly volatile geoeconomic dynamics and unequal playing field across the global landscape, a coherent long-term EU industrial strategy - aligned with business realities, clear and predictable - is more critical than ever. Europe's graphic paper industry, which Sappi is heavily invested and committed to, suffers from declining demand, rising costs and increased competition from foreign imports into EU’s market. We are especially focused on establishing solutions that support a resilient European graphic paper industry to safeguard security of domestic supply for the printing sector. This emphasises how essential a global perspective is when we consider EU regulation, our industry, and ultimately our competitiveness.
What public-private sector collaboration do you want to see in the short and long term in EU?
JB: Big industrial investments are not made overnight. For many companies, the decisions they take in the next few years will determine where production will be in 2050. That is why public-private cooperation has to be built on realism as well as ambition. We are right to work towards a sustainable economy by 2050 and we should stay committed to that goal. We also have to recognise that the road towards 2050 will not be perfectly linear. The world changes fast. Policymakers must listen to what companies need in practice: affordable energy, grid access, workable rules and planning certainty. Businesses must also step up and be willing to invest in Europe.
ME: EU legislation must be a win-win for European businesses, consumers, and communities. We need open, transparent forums whereby we can highlight the competitiveness challenges we see everyday and which affect employees and our manufacturing base. We are asking for enabling conditions to lead the change and to safeguard high quality jobs for European workers. In Europe, woodfibre use and circular material flows remain areas of competitive advantage. This is not a coincidence ; it reflects long-term investment, technical expertise and integrated ecological and industrial systems that Sappi is eager to continue strengthening.
Sappi stands ready to contribute to the EU ambitious goals to become the world’s first climate-neutral continent by 2050. Our 2030 sustainability targets will ensure that our actions on climate, nature and equity are aimed at creating lasting net-positive impact
Sign up to The Parliament's weekly newsletter
Every Friday our editorial team goes behind the headlines to offer insight and analysis on the key stories driving the EU agenda. Subscribe for free here.