The EU Budget will shape Europe's public health
Ahead of the forthcoming discussions among EU Ambassadors on the 2028–2034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), EPF wrote to all the Member States’ Permanent Representations to the EU in order to reiterate our concerns about the European Commission’s proposal to discontinue the standalone EU4Health programme and integrate health within the ECF, alongside other policy areas including biotechnology, agriculture and the bioeconomy.
From a patient perspective, the removal of a dedicated EU health programme, combined with the absence of a clearly ring-fenced public health component within the ECF, creates a significant risk that public health will be deprioritised or effectively disappear as a distinct EU funding priority for the next seven years.
Against this background, we respectfully call on all EU Member States in the forthcoming discussions, to support:
- A strong, standalone EU health programme within the next MFF;
- Should a standalone programme not be retained, robust safeguards for public health within the ECF, including dedicated funding and explicit public health objectives;
- Continued structural support for European health civil society and patient organisations, ensuring that patients can continue to contribute meaningfully to European health policymaking and to the implementation of major EU health initiatives.
Read our full statement here.
Advocacy Toolkit MFF
We know that discussions around the MFF and the ECF can be complex. That is why EPF has developed a toolkit for patient organisations, explaining what the MFF and ECF are, why they matter for patients, and how patient organisations can engage in the discussions.