Health threats: boosting EU readiness and crisis management

Drawing on the lessons learnt, a new EU health programme named EU4Health aims to fill the gaps revealed by the pandemic. Member states are primarily competent for health policy, but the EU can complement and suport national measures and adopt legislation in specific sectors.

Find out more about EU health policy.

Besides better protection against and management of crises by strengthening member states’ health systems and delivering better care, the EU4Health programme also aims to improve health and foster innovation and investment.

EU4Health is part of the Next Generation EU recovery plan presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 27 May in plenary. In a resolution on the post-2020 EU budget revision and economic recovery plan, adopted on 15 May, MEPs had insisted on the creation of a new stand-alone European health programme.

In a debate with Commissioner Stella Kyriakides on 28 May, the environment and public health committee welcomed the ambitious plans, as Parliament has consistently promoted the establishment of a coherent EU public health policy. In a resolution adopted on 17 April, Parliament called for a dedicated budget to support national healthcare sectors during the crisis, as well as for investment post-crisis to make health-care systems more resilient and focused on those most in need.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that EU health policies need to be reinforced. The European Parliament has committed to using EU Health Programme funds to create real added value to protect the future health of Europeans by joining our health forces," said Pascal Canfin, chairman of the environment and public health committee.

The programme will cover the 2021-2027 period, but all measures relating to the post crisis recovery are set to be applied in the first years.

Tackling cross-border health threats

The programme aims to strengthen prevention, preparedness, surveillance and response in crisis times and improve coordination of emergency capacity. It aims to build reserves of medicines and medical supplies, health-care staff and experts and provide technical assistance.

RescEU, which is part of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, will continue to provide rapid reaction and focus on direct crisis response capacities, while EU4Health would include strategic medical stockpiles for longer-term use and a reserve of medical staff who could be mobilised in case of a crisis.

Making medicines and medical supplies available and affordable

The EU wants to support efforts to monitor shortages of medicines, medical devices and other health-care products relevant in a crisis and limit the dependency on imports of medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients from non-EU countries. It also aims to boost innovation and more environmentally friendly production.

Strengthen health systems and health-care workforce

National health systems should become more efficient and resilient by: boosting investment in disease prevention programmes; supporting the exchange of best practices; global co-operation; and improving access to health care.

Tackling long-term challenges

Among the other issues EU4Health aims to address are:

• Providing affordable good quality health care to all, by removing health inequalities.
• Scaling up the use of digital innovations.
• Tackling non-communicable diseases by improving diagnosis, prevention and care, in particular cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, mental health (the goal is to reduce premature mortality by one third by 2030).
• Advocating the prudent use of antibiotics and fighting antimicrobial resistance.
• Improving vaccination coverage rates in member states
• Expanding successful initiatives, such as the European Reference Networks connecting healthcare professionals to support patients affected by rare diseases.
• Tackling the impact of environmental pollution and demographic changes, including an ageing population, on public health.

What will be funded?

The European Commission proposes to invest €9.4 billion from the EU's next long-term budget in the EU4Health programme, this is 23 times more than health funding for 2014-2020.

Further investment in health will be provided through other EU programmes including the European regional development and cohesion funds for medical infrastructure, Horizon Europe for health research and innovation, ESF+ for training and support for vulnerable groups in accessing health care.

Next steps

Parliament and the governments  of EU countries will negotiate the Commission’s EU4Health proposal as part of the agreement on the EU's next long-term budget. The programme is expected to be launched as of 1 January 2021.