Despite a renewed focus on health in a post-pandemic world, the European Union is still suffering from critical medicine shortages. Bulgaria, for example, has been often left without essential cancer treatments. The EU member is just one case in a series of more than 30 shortcomings that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has identified.
This exposes a glaring inefficiency in the single market, but it also presents an opportunity. The bloc must become stronger, more resilient, and boost its public health systems.
To do so, we must begin with understanding where our medications and their active ingredients are produced. Prioritising domestic production will strengthen our supply chains and ensure that we are better equipped to face future crises.
Single market for health
Stronger health cooperation within the EU is central to achieving health security. The single market can support this effort. Health policy remains primarily a national responsibility, but European collaboration on measures like stockpiling will bring added value. A coordinated approach will help protect citizens — and build resilient and innovative public health systems.
The forthcoming Critical Medicines Act (CMA) provides an opportunity to do this. The EU must create a framework for joint purchasing, mirroring the successful vaccine procurement strategies used during the pandemic. The CMA must deliver on access for the most critical medicines for all Europeans, regardless of where they are.
Money is, of course, crucial. Through the EU budget, we must protect and revitalise health funding, restoring the misguided cuts in recent years to reflect what we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Discussions over the EU’s next budget are in full swing. There are some early positive signs. In his hearing, the EU’s budget commissioner, Piotr Serafin, said “everything that we can do better, cheaper, and together, we have to do."
We must ensure that Serafin puts his money, and policy, where his mouth is.
A healthier Europe
The upcoming CMA should encompass a European Investment Plan to strengthen production capacities for key medicines. A combination of a budget-funded investment programme in combination with private capital should be leveraged by the EU, with state aid freed up where absolutely needed.
The ability to access private finance for these projects must be improved and accelerated. There will need to be a one-stop-shop system, delivered by the EU, that quickly funds projects and makes the most of what the European Investment Bank and other financial instruments can offer. That is not possible today, as companies often have to apply for different funds before they get what they need. This hampers the process.
We also need mobility. That means contingency stockpiles for key medicines, which can quickly and easily move across borders. Rapid access to them would be a huge boost for national public health systems.
All of this demands more European cooperation and coordination. We will need EU-level manufacturing and storage, forecasting and transparent data sharing.
Of course, we cannot act alone. The bloc must make good use of “friend-shoring,” working closely with key trade partners that share our goals and our values. As we strengthen European independence, we must not forget that trade and collaboration between others is what made EU what it is today.