European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi told MEPs on Thursday 20 March that he would do everything in his power not only to preserve the current health budget after 2027, but also “to recover what we have lost, namely one billion euros”.
In doing so, he sought to reassure several members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Public Health, who once again criticised the fact that funding for the EU4Health programme had been reduced from €5.3 billion to €4.4 billion due to the latest revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) in 2024.
Responding to several MEPs, including Vytenis Andriukaitis (S&D, Lithuanian), the health commissioner said that he would also try to convince the other members of the College of Commissioners, in the debates on the next MFF 2028-2034, to “create something new” in terms of the health budget. “Internal discussions are taking place within the Commission and I am trying to convince my colleagues of the importance of this area and of more predictable long-term funding”, added Mr Várhelyi.
WHO. At a time when US President Donald Trump has ordered the United States’ withdrawal from the WHO, Mr Várhelyi gave his assurance that the EU would continue to support the organisation, which made managing the Covid-19 crisis possible. Next Tuesday, he will meet WHO leaders to discuss cooperation with the EU. As for the American decision, “it’s their choice, there’s little we can do about it”. In his view, the priority must be to maintain the level of cooperation with the United States.
The European cancer plan “is a success, but we’re only halfway there”, summed up the health commissioner, in response to Ignazio Marino (Greens/EFA, Italian). On the subject of cancer screening, he suggested discussing a possible agreement with stakeholders to provide data free of charge to public health systems in EU countries and thus “accelerate prevention and the development of technologies”. This could be discussed in the Biotech Act to be presented by the European Commission in 2026.
On medical devices, the commissioner said he was considering immediate solutions to resolve problems with paediatric medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices. He also indicated that the European regulation on medical devices was undergoing revision and that a proposal would be made shortly.
With regard to the pharmaceuticals package, Mr Várhelyi said he hoped that the European ministers would soon reach an agreement on the issue. At their informal meeting in Warsaw on 25 March, the European health ministers will discuss how to guarantee the mental well-being of children and young people in a digitised world, and what can be done to guarantee access to pharmaceutical products for patients throughout the European Union.
Finally, the Commission is working on revising the texts on tobacco, and this revision is expected “to be well prepared and ambitious in terms of public health”, promised the commissioner. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)