General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2027 - all sections

The Committee on Public Health calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its motion for a resolution:

1.Calls on the Commission, Member States and relevant stakeholders to focus the 2027 budget on the issues of EU added value in public health, such as: health security and preparedness, prevention of communicable and non-communicable diseases, including cancer, rare diseases, mental health, women’s health, sexual and reproductive health as well as investment in digital health, critical medicines, medical devices, addressing antimicrobial resistance, training of health workforce, innovation, as well as gender-responsive disease research, while building on the findings of the interim evaluation of the EU4Health Programme, fully respecting Member State competences in line with Article 168 of the Treaties, avoiding fragmentation of funding, ensuring equitable access to healthcare and reducing health inequalities;

2.Calls for public health to be treated as a strategic autonomy, security, social cohesion and competitiveness priority in Union funding; stresses that investments should improve access to high quality healthcare, particularly in underserved or hard-to-reach areas, including islands, rural, mountainous, remote and outermost regions, and support interoperable cross-border digital tools, including AI systems, health data infrastructure, in particular through the implementation of the European Health Data Space; emphasises that reinforcing cross-border healthcare is essential to improve accessible and affordable care and effective cross-border mobility of patients, particularly transplant patients and patients with rare diseases and complex conditions, by enabling access to specialised expertise, diagnosis and treatment when such care is not available nationally; reiterates the importance of the voluntary mobility of health professionals, without exacerbating workforce shortages or territorial imbalances in Member States and regions of origin, as well as coordinated crisis and pandemic response mechanisms across the EU and with global partners; calls for EU health-related funding to reduce inequalities in access to healthcare, with particular attention to children, vulnerable patients and underserved regions, including through prevention, early diagnosis, screening and cross-border care;

3.Stresses that external health spending should be targeted at preparedness, surveillance and resilient partner-country health systems, including access to essential treatments, medicines and vaccines, especially where this helps preventing cross-border threats and supports the Union’s health security responsibilities and humanitarian values; calls for adequate and predictable funding for operational deployment of healthcare professionals and medical equipment, as well as medical evacuations and the treatment, within Union territory, of patients from conflict zones, notably through the medical evacuation operations of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism, in coordination with Member States' healthcare systems and in complementarity with the Union’s humanitarian aid and development policy instruments;

4.Notes with concern that, in the draft budget, the total EU4Health commitments decrease from 687.9 million EUR in 2026 to 635.3 million EUR in 2027, representing a reduction of around 7.6% and remaining below the level needed to meet growing public health needs, demographic pressures and the programme’s core objectives; recalls that the programme's overall envelope was already reduced by close to EUR 1 billion in the context of the 2024 revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework and considers that the programme cannot absorb further reductions without compromising the delivery of its objectives under Regulation (EU) 2021/522; calls on the EU institutions to agree on increasing the draft budget allocation for the EU4Health Programme with a particular focus on health security, prevention, accessibility and innovation, as well as equitable access to healthcare and resilient health systems; stresses that the insufficient level of funding for the implementation of the Critical Medicines Act and the pharmaceutical package risks limiting the effectiveness of these initiatives in addressing shortages, diversifying supply chains and strengthening the Union’s strategic autonomy in health; calls for dedicated and adequately resourced EU4Health actions supporting critical medicines and medical devices, including support for investments that strengthen and diversify EU-based manufacturing capacity for critical medicines, active pharmaceutical ingredients and essential medical devices, in order to enhance security of supply and reduce strategic dependencies, enhanced voluntary collaborative procurement, preparedness measures including, where appropriate, strategic reserves of critical medicines and essential medical equipment, and better transparency on supply chains and stock levels;

5.Calls for stronger coordination between EU4Health, ESF+, Erasmus+ and cohesion funding to address health workforce shortages by supporting the training, upskilling and retention of health professionals, with the involvement of universities specialising in medicine and pharmacy, as well as university hospitals, including in underserved areas, in particular in the sectors of primary care and mental health; stresses that such coordination should not lead to unnecessary administrative burden; highlights the key role of the ESF+ in promoting health equity and addressing disparities in access to healthcare and calls for strengthened ESF+ support for Member States in tackling health workforce shortages, including through measures to improve working conditions, mobility and retention of healthcare professionals, particularly in Member States and regions facing persistent workforce outflows, while supporting voluntary return and fully respecting free movement; insists on clear and qualitative key performance indicators with measurable targets and patients-based outcomes set out in the annual work programmes, transparency and avoidance of duplication between EU programmes;

6.Calls for cohesion funds to be used effectively with a view to closing territorial gaps in access to healthcare and supporting the upgrading of hospitals, territorial structures, emergency-first responder networks and health and digital infrastructure in less developed, rural, underserved and hard-to-reach areas; stresses that these infrastructure investments should be accompanied by adequate planning for staffing, service delivery and operational sustainability, so as to ensure that new structures are fully operational and yield lasting benefits for citizens;

7.Recalls that Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2021/522 reserves a minimum of 20% of the programme's total envelope for health promotion and disease prevention; calls on the Commission to deliver on this commitment in the 2027 annual work programme and its implementation; underlines that prevention is among the most cost-effective forms of health expenditure, containing long-term pressure on public budgets;

8.Notes that 2027 is the final year of the EU4Health Programme as a standalone instrument; calls on the Commission to ensure that multiannual actions launched or ongoing under the programme, including the European Reference Networks, joint actions with Member States, HERA's medical countermeasures development and procurement, and the rollout of the European Health Data Space, continue without interruption or funding gaps into the post-2027 financial architecture;

9.Stresses the importance of ensuring the continued participation of health civil society organisations, including patient organisations in Union health actions, recognising their essential role in shaping patient-centred policies, supporting implementation and improving access to care; insists that the visibility, traceability and evaluability of Union health expenditure be preserved in the future architecture; notes the concerns arising from the discontinuation of operating grants for health civil society organisations, including patient organisations, under the EU4Health 2025 Work Programme, in particular as regards continuity of activities and support for patients and communities, emphasises the importance of appropriate and transparent support mechanisms for such organisations; recognises their contribution to Union health objectives; notes the findings of the interim evaluation of the EU4Health Programme regarding the contribution of civil society organisations to the implementation of the Programme and calls for future support, including the possible reintroduction of operating grants in the 2027 Work Programme, to be based on clear criteria of European added value, transparency, neutrality, sound financial management and measurable impact, and to be implemented in accordance with Union law and the respective competences of Member States;

10.Encourages the mobilisation of additional resources through alternative channels, such as InvestEU, STEP and Digital Europe, provided that public health outcomes and patient access remain central criteria; stresses that these instruments should be used as a priority to strengthen European competitiveness in the health sector and promote the production of strategic health technologies; stresses the need for transparent, result oriented public health spending, with a particular focus on mental health and neurological disorders, digital health and AI, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), zoonotic diseases and non- communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and particularly childhood diabetes, obesity, chronic kidney disease, liver disease, rare diseases and cancer, as well as primary care, promotion of healthy lifestyles, research into the exposome and sustained investment in the health workforce; highlights the importance of a life course approach to public health that supports citizens, including those within the autism spectrum, through appropriate institutions for care and support throughout their lives; stresses, in particular, the importance of protecting the mental health and digital well-being of children and young people, including challenges related to excessive screen use, harmful substance use and gambling-related harm;

11.Underlines that combating AMR, in line with the One Health approach, requires dedicated funding to support research into innovative solutions, including on new antimicrobials, diagnostics and alternatives to antimicrobials, as well as strong infection prevention and control measures; stresses the need to address AMR prevention through investments in interoperable surveillance and data sharing systems, notably treating healthcare-associated infections and building on the surveillance networks coordinated by the ECDC, as well as funding to strengthen national and regional public health and veterinary laboratories, genomic surveillance of zoonoses and food-borne infections and interoperable data exchange between the competent authorities for human health, veterinary medicine, food safety and the environment; emphasises that investing in high-quality public healthcare systems, including effective infection prevention and control, adequate staffing, modern equipment, clinical competencies and accessibility for the health workforce and patients, is key to reducing health inequalities across the Union; calls for funding to support disease prevention, comprehensive health-promotion approach and addressing various determinants of health, including measures at local level, such as placing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in schools and installing hygienic drinking-water fountains in schools and public spaces, financed through a dedicated health line or cohesion investments where appropriate;

12.Calls for budgetary support for concrete measures that improve working conditions, professional development and retention of healthcare workers, including training, upskilling, investment in digital skills, and return schemes, especially in underserved and hard-to-reach areas, and for better use of EU funds to support modern, digitally enabled and community-based care by promoting investments that tangibly strengthen the operational capacity of health systems;

13.Calls for targeted Union support, in full respect of Member States’ competences, to strengthen accessible community-based care, including primary care, rural medicine, community pharmacies, telemedicine, emergency medical and patient transport services, long-term, elderly, palliative and disability care, as well as maternal, paediatric and neonatal services, particularly in underserved and hard to reach areas; stresses the importance of prevention, screening, early diagnosis, integrated health and social care, support for informal carers and access to cross-border expertise for complex cases;

14.Insists that EU health spending under the 2027 budget should be transparent, result-oriented and linked to measurable and qualitative outcomes, including improved access to care, reduced territorial disparities, stronger prevention and better preparedness;

15.Calls for the strengthening, expansion and adequate resourcing of European Reference Networks (ERNs) for rare and complex diseases, including sustained support for their digital infrastructure, cross border case consultation and integration into national health systems; underlines the need to improve equitable and prompt diagnosis, access to specialised expertise and continuity of care for rare disease patients across the Union; supports, in this context, the establishment, preceded by an assessment of existing structures and administrative costs, of a dedicated EU structure, such as a European agency or centre for rare diseases, to bring together research, screening, data, registries, best practices and treatment pathways, and to maximise the added value of the coordination at EU level in the field of rare diseases; stresses that in particular children affected by rare and complex diseases, as well as paediatric cancers, require timely diagnosis, specialised care pathways and continued cross-border access to expertise; underlines the importance of strengthening the EU’s capacity for research, clinical trials, manufacturing, and equitable access to innovative treatments;

16.Calls on the Commission to include in the 2027 EU4Health work programme dedicated funding for the Networks of Expertise being implemented through the second Joint Action on Networks of Expertise on Cancer (JANE-2) and the European Network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres being implemented through Joint Action EUnetCCC, to safeguard their core coordination and operations; stresses that continued support in 2027 is essential to preserve the emerging ecosystem of EU cancer networks developed under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and to ensure continuity pending future Union health funding arrangements; underlines the importance of integrating these networks with national and regional health systems, while fully respecting Member State competences for the organisation and delivery of healthcare;

17.Welcomes the proposed increases of Union contributions to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the overall increased budget of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), while stressing that resources must be commensurate with the new tasks stemming from serious cross border health threats legislation and the pharmaceutical package; calls for a staffing and capability review of ECDC and EMA in light of their expanded mandates, so as to avoid structural under resourcing and to ensure that agencies can provide high quality, timely scientific advice and coordination;

18.Calls for the restoration of EU4Health Programme commitments to at least their 2026 level, noting that commitments decrease from EUR 661.3 million in 2026 to EUR 606 million in 2027, representing a reduction of over 8%; stresses that commitments are essential for the Union’s capacity to launch and finance new health actions in the coming years, including on preparedness, prevention, access to innovation, critical medicines, cancer, cardiovascular health, mental health, rare diseases and health workforce;

19.Welcomes the continued support for the health-related capacities of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM), including the rescEU medical stockpiles, which contributes to medical evacuation capacities and Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) preparedness; underlines that health-related capacities under UCPM should be adequately funded in order to ensure swift deployment in crises; stresses the importance of close coordination between UCPM, DG HERA, EU4Health and national civil protection and health authorities to avoid overlaps, strengthen preparedness, maximise synergies and ensure efficient use of resources; calls also for the adequate resourcing of HERA’s international engagement, including effective cooperation with global health institutions, on the development and equitable deployment of medical countermeasures and to support health systems;