European Health Union: Council calls on Commission to keep health as a priority

The Council is calling on the European Commission to keep health as a priority in its upcoming five-year term. In conclusions approved today, member states acknowledge the work already carried out to improve health policy coordination at EU level, highlight the ongoing challenges facing the EU’s health system, and set out the key areas of focus for strengthening the European Health Union.

In its conclusions, the Council notes that the EU’s health system faces significant challenges. These include health workforce shortages, which member states and the Commission are encouraged to address through investment, digital tools, knowledge sharing, cooperation at EU level and adapted regulatory frameworks. 

Another key challenge is improving the security of supply of medicines and medical devices. The Council calls on member states and the Commission to continue work on mitigating shortages of critical medicines, including via the Critical Medicines Alliance, and invites the Commission to consider proposing a critical medicines act, which would provide a legal framework for addressing supply-chain vulnerabilities.