On 16 September, President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, delivered her State of the Union Address, reflecting on the current policy context at an EU level and setting out her policy priorities for the future. Noting the ongoing pandemic and the continuing EU budget discussions, President von der Leyen highlighted the importance of common European actions, particularly in relation to health. She further noted that the NextGenerationEU was a once in a lifetime opportunity to make change happen, focusing on issues such as:
-
Protecting lives and livelihoods in Europe, the health of citizens and the stability of economy
-
Leading the digital transformation, particularly on data, technology and infrastructure
-
Continuing to support global work towards an affordable and safe vaccine against COVID-19.
President von der Leyen also sent a Letter of Intent to David Sassoli, the President of the European Parliament, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as the Presidency of the Council, in which she detailed the actions the Commission intends to take in the following year by means of legislation and other initiatives, including:
-
A legislative proposal on a Data Act
-
An Action Plan on the European Pillar of Social Rights (and other areas)
-
Legislative proposals to extend the remit of the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Control
-
A legislative proposal on a European Health Data Space.
You can read and watch the State of the Union here: https://www.eu-patient.eu/news/latest-epf-news/2020/epf-proposes-a-progressive-and-patient-centred-eu4health-programme/
