It is still too early to hope that the draft regulation determining the measures that will apply at European level in the future to respond to cross-border health emergencies will be adopted as early as 7 December.
This regulation - an integral part of the new European health emergency preparedness and response system, HERA (see EUROPE 12792/24) - has been under negotiation in the Council of the European Union for almost a month (see EUROPE 12832/19).
However, the Member States’ ambassadors to the EU (Coreper) decided on Wednesday 1 December not to submit the dossier to the Health Ministers for adoption next week.
A few delegations were in favour, “but still too many to safely go to Council”, a European source told EUROPE.
Interdependence with the Cross Border Threats project
In particular, some States would like to see negotiations on this text continue in parallel with those on the draft regulation on cross-border health threats (see EUROPE 12829/22) - around which the ‘Health Union’ legislative package is built. However, interinstitutional negotiations on this other draft are not expected to start until January, under the French Presidency of the EU Council.
The two texts are closely linked. Firstly, because the draft EU Council Regulation setting out a framework for the activation of emergency measures can only be activated once an emergency situation has been recognised. However, it is the second draft regulation that defines what a public health emergency is and when such an emergency can be declared (Article 23).
There are other links between the two texts. For example, the draft Regulation on emergency measures provides (Article 5) for the establishment of a ‘Health Crisis Board’. It suggests that a representative of the European Parliament and a representative of the ‘Health Security Committee’, which will be established by the draft regulation on cross border threats (Article 4), be invited to the EU Council as observers.
Ministers’ “guidance”
The States that opposed the draft regulation being submitted to ministers for adoption apparently therefore simply wanted the technical work to continue, a European official said on Wednesday. When asked about their motives, he assured that they did not intend to “rebel” against the project.
As for work at the technical level, the Slovenian Presidency believes it has done its best - four draft compromises have passed through the experts’ hands - and it would like to see indications at the political level, institutional sources confirmed.
The press note for the ministerial meeting on 7 December therefore confirms that the Slovenian Presidency will not seek agreement, but merely “guidance from the ministers on the next steps as well as their views on the Presidency’s proposals”.
Latest changes
The latest proposals from the Presidency date back to 29 November. A new draft compromise, a copy of which EUROPE has obtained, was transmitted to the national delegations on that date.
Overall, the changes introduced, the Presidency explains, are aimed at strengthening the role of the EU27 in the governance of the emergency framework. “Throughout the discussion, Member States have been stressing the need for enhanced involvement of Member States in the decision-making process, especially during crisis times”, it notes.
Among other things, changes have been made regarding the activation of the emergency framework and the creation of the aforementioned Health Crisis Board to give the EU27 a greater role. The text has also been adapted to strengthen the role of States in the procurement and monitoring of medical countermeasures available in the event of a crisis.
To consult the draft compromise: https://bit.ly/3GbUhjk (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)