The European Commission is determined to strengthen public health policy in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis. Among the initiatives presented on Wednesday 27 May, it suggests diverting €9.37 billion to a new health programme, EU4Health.
It also proposes accelerating research, building up a pool of strategic equipment and strengthening the EU's health agencies.
A programme specifically dedicated to health
Two weeks ago the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced to MEPs her intention to create a new health programme. Back in the Chamber, she delivered on her promises by announcing the creation of a substantial programme as part of the Next Generation EU recovery plan.
This represents a substantial change in the Commission's position: not only is the Commission abandoning the idea of merging the current 'health programme' into the European Social Fund (ESF+), but it will substantially increase the financial allocation to this programme by almost 23 times the amount originally planned.
Indeed, whereas before the crisis, the Commission had planned to devote €413 million to health between 2021 and 2027, compared to €449.4 million between 2014 and 2020, it is now proposing an allocation of €9.37 billion, including €7.7 billion from Next Generation EU and the rest from the European budget. Known as EU4Health, this instrument - which will be financed inter alia by grants - will help to ensure that the Union has the critical capacity to respond rapidly and on the scale needed for future health crises.
Strengthening the EMA and ECDC
Among other proposals related to public health, the European Commission announces its intention to strengthen the rescEU (strategic capacity) and Horizon Europe (research) programmes.
It also announces that it will strengthen the European Medicines Agency to avoid shortages and give a stronger role to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in coordinating surveillance, preparedness and response to health crises.
Finally, it confirms its plan to present a pharmaceutical strategy in the fourth quarter of 2020 and not this summer, as had been envisaged for some time.
Positive reactions
These initiatives were welcomed by both health associations and the European Parliament, to which the President of the European Commission had reserved the primacy of her announcements. "What was still a dream yesterday has become reality, as public health is finally getting the recognition it deserves in the new European recovery plan", Sascha Marschang, acting Secretary General of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), reacted on Twitter. Nathalie Colin-Oesterlé (EPP, France), European Parliament’s rapporteur on drug shortages, also welcomed the Commission's proposals, which are in line with her report. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)