On the morning of Tuesday 19 February, the Commissioners for Regional Policy and Health, Corina Crețu and Vytenis Andriukaitis respectively, shared views with health professionals, in order to initiate a discussion on the European Union's future investments in healthcare within the framework of the 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy.
"Healthcare is evolving and EU investments have to evolve with it[...] This is why we organised this discussion with health professionals, so that their recommendations can serve as a compass in planning EU investments in health over the next decade", stated Corina Crețu at the press conference following the round table.
The main conclusion of the discussion was that health systems were moving towards training, awareness and disease prevention, as well as a reduction in hospital and residential-based care, in favour of community-based care.
Therefore, according to the conclusions of the round table, the Cohesion Policy could be an instrument in supporting investments in various types of infrastructure, made necessary by these developments - whether for primary healthcare or community-based healthcare infrastructure, or prevention, integrated care or staff training programmes.
More specifically, Cohesion Policy funds could be combined with other EU instruments, such as InvestEU, or national programmes, in order to support the implementation of long-term investment strategies developed by Member States. These strategies should include infrastructure, human capital, innovative technologies and new models for the delivery of care.
During the press conference, the Commissioners also announced the launch of the second phase of a pilot project to improve cross-border emergency services in the Pyrenees between the border regions of France, Spain and the Principality of Andorra. They also announced that healthcare would be the new category for this year's RegioStars awards, which are awarded by the EU to the most innovative regional projects. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot - intern)