EPF backs European Parliament’s united call to restore funding for patient organisations
The European Patients’ Forum (EPF) welcomes the letter addressed to the European Commission and led by MEP Christophe Clergeau (S&D, France), in which 70 Members of the European Parliament, from across the political spectrum and beyond the SANT Committee, call for the reinstatement of operating grants for health civil society organisations (CSOs), including patient organisations, in the 2026 EU4Health Work Programme. This initiative follows a similar call from 13 Member States, led by France in early March, which also urged the European Commission to restore these operating grants.
The wide cross-party support for this initiative, from the EPP to S&D, Renew Europe, the Greens and the Left, demonstrates a shared recognition of the essential role that health CSOs, and in particular patient organisations, play in European health policymaking.
Valentina Strammiello, EPF Executive Director: “We welcome this initiative from Members of the European Parliament and would like to thank the 70 MEPs who supported the letter. The broad cross-party support reflects a clear recognition that patient organisations are a fundamental component of an inclusive and effective European health policy framework. At a time when major health files are being negotiated and implemented, ensuring meaningful participation of health CSOs, including patient organisations, is essential to the credibility and quality of policymaking. Our expertise is also regularly called upon by the European Commission to inform policies and bring forward the realities faced by patients across Europe. Yet, this contribution is increasingly expected without the support needed to sustain it. In this context, it is also legitimate to question how a European civil society strategy can be upheld if it is not supported in practice. We therefore urge the European Commission to ensure a stable and sustainable funding mechanisms for health CSOs and patient organisations”.
Over the programme’s seven-year duration, operating grants accounted for approximately 1% of its total budget. In this context, the decision to discontinue operating grants appears to be less a budgetary necessity and more a political choice, possibly reflecting a misunderstanding of the role of operating grants and the extent to which project-based funding can sustain civil society organisations.
EPF would also like to reiterate that operating grants are not limited to administrative support as they primarily enable organisations to engage effectively in policy processes, provide expertise, and represent patients’ perspectives in forums such as the EMA’s Patients and Consumers Working Party, the Medical Devices Coordination Group, and the AMR Stakeholder Forum. Without such support, continued participation of health CSOs in the development and implementation of EU legislation through these forums is jeopardised.
As the 2026 EU4Health Work Programme is expected to be published in the coming weeks, EPF calls on the European Commission to reinstate operating grants for health civil society organisations and patient organisations, and to ensure a predictable and sustainable funding framework under the next Multiannual Financial Framework (2028–2034).
EPF remains committed to constructive engagement with EU institutions to support a strong, inclusive, and patient-centred European Health Union, and to continuing its collaboration with members of the EU4Health Civil Society Alliance.
Read the letter signed by the 70 MEPs.