Europe has emerged from the Covid-19 pandemic determined to “build back better,” and nowhere is this more relevant than in the healthcare sector. In the Public Health Subcommittee (SANT), we aim to build on this momentum to deepen the EU’s involvement in the health of its citizens.
The pharmaceutical package, proposed by the European Commission in April 2023, represents the largest reform of the EU medicines market in over 20 years. The European Parliament adopted its position in April, and we are ready to work with the Council of the EU to negotiate a final version. We hope that the Hungarian rotating presidency will finalise the Council’s general approach in December so that we can begin trilogues in January, as soon as the Polish presidency begins.
We must also mitigate risks in our supply chains for medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to prepare for the next pandemic or other public health emergencies. With the critical medicines list and the Critical Medicines Alliance established, we have a framework in place for further regulation, and we are ready to work with the Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) as it develops a draft Critical Medicines Act.
The Beating Cancer Plan, adopted in 2021, has been highly successful and can serve as a model for other comprehensive healthcare strategies in the coming years. We will continue to monitor its implementation and, based on this, build strategies for cardiovascular diseases – still the leading cause of death in the EU – related diabetic diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Biotechnology is a promising new sector for innovation in medicines, and EU legislators must develop the appropriate incentives for it to thrive. Other economies are supporting biotechnology; for example, the US offers biotech innovations 12 years of patent protection, compared to just five years for other types of medicine patents.
As the Commission develops a draft Biotech Act, we call for it to support research, following the example of Horizon Europe, but also to provide solutions for industry and production capacities in Europe. Apart from strengthening European pharmaceutical safety and sovereignty, this will improve European industry’s competitiveness and spur our economy.
We support the Commission’s work on a mental health action plan, and we believe this should have a particular focus on young people in the digital era, who are targeted by addictive algorithms that monetise their attention.
We must also ensure the proper implementation of the European Health Data Space. The use of AI algorithms in the health sector may require separate sectoral regulation in addition to the Artificial Intelligence Act.
During this term, we will adopt the next Multiannual Financial Framework, which will run until 2034. We must ensure the framework allocates appropriate funds to health programs such as EU4Health, for research such as the cancer mission in Horizon Europe, and for investments supporting health services in EU member states.
All of this must continue to aim at eliminating health inequalities both between EU states and within them, as well as between urban, suburban and rural areas. Health depends on DNA code, but in Europe it must not depend on a postal code.