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Public Health

Overview

EU countries hold primary responsibility for organising and delivering health services and medical care. 

EU health policy therefore serves to complement national policies, to ensure health protection in all EU policies and to work towards a stronger Health Union. 

EU policies and actions in public health aim to

  • protect and improve the health of EU citizens
  • support the modernisation and digitalisation of health systems and infrastructure
  • improve the resilience of Europe's health systems
  • equip EU countries to better prevent and address future pandemics

Strategic health issues are discussed by representatives of national authorities and the European Commission in a senior-level working group on public health. EU institutions, countries, regional and local authorities, and other interest groups contribute to the implementation of the EU's health strategy and annual work programmes.

European Commission's role

The European Commission's Directorate for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) supports the efforts of EU countries to protect and improve the health of their citizens and to ensure the accessibility, effectiveness and resilience of their health systems. This is done through various means, including by

  • proposing legislation
  • providing financial support
  • coordinating and facilitating the exchange of best practices between EU countries and health experts
  • health promotion activities

Legislation

The EU can adopt health legislation under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union: Article 168 (protection of public health), Article 114 (single market) and Article 153 (social policy). Areas where the EU has adopted legislation include

The Council of the EU can also address recommendations on public health to EU countries.

Investing in health

The EU4Health programme provides funding to improve health in the Union, tackle cross-border health threats, improve the availability and affordability of medicinal products, medical devices and crisis-relevant products and increase health systems’ resilience.

Other EU programmes also invest in healthcare systems, health research, infrastructure or wider health-related aspects, in particular

Political priorities 2024-2029

Over the next few years, to ensure Europe’s competitiveness and prosperity, the Commission will work towards a more circular and resilient economy. This includes shifting to a more sustainable pattern of production and consumption, retaining the value of resources in our economy for longer. Public health measures can contribute to this ambition by strengthening prevention, resilience and competitiveness in the face of new and emerging health threats and challenges.

Key public health priorities include:

  • completing the European health union, diversifying supply chains, fostering access to most advanced treatments, making the health and pharmaceutical sector more resilient
  • reducing dependencies on critical medicines and ingredients with a critical medicines act
  • stepping up work on preventive health, in particular for mental health, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, as well on treatments for degenerative illnesses and research on autism
  • safeguarding the security of our healthcare systems through the European action plan on the cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers
  • making it easier and faster to bring biotech from the laboratory to the market with a European biotech act

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