Europe’s health ministers have called on the European Commission to make health a priority during its next five-year term, according to conclusions adopted on Friday 21 June.
The Member States recognise the work already done to improve coordination of health policies at EU level, highlight the challenges currently facing the EU health system and define the main areas for action to strengthen the European Health Union.
In a statement, Spain and Portugal argue that the ‘law on critical medicines’ should be based on a thorough impact assessment that takes into account all relevant measures, including support instruments at EU level “that can help to strengthen EU production of critical medicines while ensuring a level playing field among Member States”. In this way, “we can safeguard an equitable access to critical medicines and to Health for all citizens across all Member States”, according to the statement.
Link to the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/crx
Link to the EU Council conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/crx
Situation in Gaza. The health crisis in the Gaza Strip was mentioned by the Spanish delegation, supported in an information note (https://aeur.eu/f/crz ) by the Irish, Luxembourg, Maltese and Slovenian delegations. According to Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides, the big challenge is getting patients out of Gaza. “We are stepping up our outreach to Egypt, Jordan and notably Israel to open the borders and ensure security on the ground”. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)