EU4HEALTH PROGRAM

Members of the European Parliament reach a deal with the European Council on 2021-2017 EU health programme. The new EU health programme, worth 5.1 billion EUR, will help to fix shortcomings exposed by COVID-19 and boost quality and resilience of EU health systems.

• At least 20% of the budget for disease prevention and health promotion
• Stocks of medicines and equipment and substitute medical staff part of the new programme
• Support for the creation of a European health data space
• Prepare health systems better for future health threats and pandemics

The new programme will support actions in areas where the EU’s contribution will clearly be valuable, invest in health promotion and disease prevention measures and prepare European health systems to face future health threats.
For more information see: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201211IPR93655/eu4health-meps-reach-deal-with-council-on-2021-2027-eu-health-programme

The EU4Health Civil Society Alliance (https://eu4health.eu/) which Eurocare is a member of has been very engaged in the process of securing funding for the new EU4Health programme. In the letter sent to Health Minister Spahn on the 10 December the following calls were highlighted:  

Only an inclusive EU4Health Programme, which includes public interest and civil society’s expertise can unleash its full potential to:
·       improve public health, promoting health and wellbeing of people in Europe, as well as preventing diseases.
·       respond to the health and social needs of people living in Europe.
·       help Member States’ efforts in a complementary way by addressing the gaps in different national healthcare systems, beyond the COVID-19 crisis.  

Such a framework must facilitate the development of transparent and evidence-informed annual work plans that allow the Programme’s priorities to effectively match the needs and expectations of all Europeans, equitably in all EU countries and regions  

We, the EU4Health Civil Society Alliance of 26 European umbrella organisations with a national and grassroot membership basis in all European countries, ask the German Presidency of the Council to uphold the European Parliament proposal of an EU4Health Steering Board with meaningful and structured participation of civil society in an inclusive, effective, transparent and sustainable way.  

Next steps
The provisional deal still needs to be approved by Parliament as a whole as well as Council.

Background
The European Commission proposed a new stand-alone EU4Health Programme for 2021-2027 of €9.4 billion as part of the Recovery Plan. The Health Programme was previously under the initial EU long-term budget 2021-2027 as one element of the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). However, Member States reduced the amount to €1.7 billion, jeopardising the EU’s ability and ambition to strengthen healthcare systems and public health protection across EU countries.