At their videoconference on EU Health held on Wednesday 2 December, EU health ministers from Member States welcomed the idea of strengthening the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), while calling for the division of competences between the EU and the Member States to be respected (see EUROPE 12600/24).
Several Member States, such as France, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Cyprus and Estonia, called for consistency and to avoid duplication.
By way of a reminder, on 11 November, the European Commission proposed that more expertise and resources should be given to the EMA and ECDC. It also reiterated its intention to present by the end of 2021 an ‘EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority’ (HERA), modelled on the American version called BARDA.
However, in Finland’s opinion, this agency could duplicate the mandate of the Civil Protection Mechanism. Denmark, for its part, is opposed to what it sees as an overly interventionist EU policy, in particular through the stress tests announced in the draft regulation on cross-border threats to health. Spain called for more weight to be given to the Health Security Committee. Generally speaking, several Member States, such as France, were in favour of evaluating the ‘governance’ aspect of this package.
When asked about a possible pushback in respect of the European Commission, Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said it was normal to have questions and concerns. “On the whole, I would say that this package was very well accepted. We all agreed that there is now a life changing situation for us all and that this crisis should be seen as an opportunity”.
Under cover of an anecdote, the Maltese delegation moreover underlined a real change in ways of thinking, referring to the “behind-the-scenes discussions two years ago on the very relevance of DG Health at the European Commission. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)