(1)

Under Article 168(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Member States are required, in liaison with the Commission, to coordinate among themselves their policies and programmes in the areas referred to in paragraph 1 of that provision. The Commission may, in close contact with the Member States, take any useful initiative to promote such coordination, in particular initiatives aiming at the establishment of guidelines and indicators, the organisation of exchange of best practice, and the preparation of the necessary elements for periodic monitoring and evaluation.

(2)

Commission Decision 2012/C 198/06 (1) established an expert group on effective ways of investing in health (‘the panel’), in order to provide the Commission with independent and multisectoral advice on effective ways of investing in health.

(3)

Decision 2012/C 198/06 was originally intended to apply until 1 October 2015. Commission Decision 2015/6719/EC (2) extended the applicability of Decision 2012/C 198/06 by four years, until 1 October 2019.

(4)

The panel is still best placed to serve as a mechanism to further develop cross-country knowledge and expertise of health systems which can inform policies at national and at Union level and provide advice, thus contributing to effective, accessible and resilient health systems.

(5)

It is thus essential that the panel continues to provide advice on effective ways of investing in health, benefiting from the expertise available within the Union and beyond, as may be deemed necessary.

(6)

The period of application of Decision 2012/C 198/06 should be extended by 3 years until 31 December 2022 so as to allow the panel to function during the next appointment period.

(7)

Decision 2012/C 198/06 should therefore be amended accordingly,