The new Subcommittee on Public Health (SANT) set up by the European Parliament under the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) held its inaugural meeting on Thursday 23 March.
The SANT subcommittee was created on 14 February (see EUROPE 13121/16) and the list of its 30 members was announced on 15 March (see EUROPE 13142/11).
On Thursday 23 March, MEPs elected the bureau by acclamation after Pieter Liese (EPP, German) was introduced as provisional President.
Bartosz Arłukowicz (EPP, Polish), the only candidate, was elected Chair of the subcommittee by acclamation. Dolors Montserrat (EPP, Spanish) said he was a paediatrician and had chaired the Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA). She also stressed that SANT should not only hold hearings, but also discussions on public health issues. However, the subcommittee will not have legislative powers.
Bartosz Arłukowicz spoke about some of the public health challenges facing the EU, namely the supply of medicines, unequal access in the EU to medicines and new medical technologies. He stressed that SANT had only one year to complete its work. The new President wants to see this work start soon. The next SANT meeting will be held in Strasbourg on 20 April 2023.
Mr Arłukowicz felt that too few meetings had been scheduled. He will ask the Secretariat and the Bureau of the European Parliament to organise more of them.
Tudor Ciuhodaru (S&D, Romanian) was elected first Vice-Chair of SANT, Irena Joveva (Renew Europe, Slovenian) second Vice-Chair, Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA, Luxembourger) third Vice-Chair and Joanna Kopcińska (ECR, Polish) fourth Vice-Chair.
The new President called on the political groups to appoint their coordinator quickly.
Tomislav Sokol (Croatian) is already the SANT coordinator for EPP, Véronique Trillet-Lenoir (French) for Renew Europe and Sara Cerdas (Portugal) for S&D. (Original version in French by Émilie Vanderhulst)