The European Parliament and the Council of the EU have agreed a deal in relation to the dedicated EUR 5.1 billion EU4Health programme, as part of the EU’s recently agreed long-term budget.
The new programme will support actions across a range of health policy areas, including investing in health promotion and disease prevention measures, as well as preparing European healthcare systems to face future health threats.
Another objective of the programme will be to support Member States in developing healthcare standards at the national level. In addition, the programme will support communication activities to promote disease prevention and healthy lifestyles, as well as countering misinformation.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the programme will support actions which foster the production, procurement and management of crisis-relevant products in the EU, in order to make them more available and affordable.
The Parliament and Council have also agreed that 20 % of the total budget should be reserved for health promotion and disease prevention, which address health risks. Furthermore, the digitisation of healthcare, including the creation of a European health data space, is also part of the agreement.
The agreement must still be ratified by a plenary vote of the European Parliament, as well as by the Council.
You can read more here on the agreement at: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20201211IPR93655/eu4health-meps-reach-deal-with-council-on-2021-2027-eu-health-programme
