Riikka Pakarinen served as a Member of the European Parliament in 2009-14. As a member of the European Parliament's Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, she acquired a profound understanding of forest, climate and energy issues. She also served as her parliamentary group's chief negotiator during, among other things, the drafting of a green paper on European forest policy as well as the LULUCF regulations.
“Riikka Pakarinen has a strong track record in influencing policy both in Finland and on the EU level. More and more decisions that affect the forest-based sector are made by the European Union and her MEP experience adds a valuable dimension to our EU lobbying work. In the sphere of domestic lobbying, we want to ensure that matters of key importance to the forest-based sector, such as projects associated with the bioeconomy, move forward in the political decision-making process,” says Timo Jaatinen, Director General of the Finnish Forest Industries Federation.
Pakarinen reports to Director General Timo Jaatinen.