The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed national health systems’ unpreparedness and structural weaknesses while bringing to the fore differences in national capacities and the lack of a common European approach against cross-border health threats. The war in Ukraine has further amplified the significance of a coordinated EU approach to health, with the EU’s response displaying signs of solidarity and cooperation. To better protect the health of citizens, prevent and address future pandemics, and improve the resilience of Europe’s health systems, the Commission has put forward the first building blocks of a European Health Union (EHU).
The Task Force will discuss the proposed building blocks of the European Health Union and gather reflections from relevant stakeholders on what further actions would help provide policymakers with valuable recommendations on how to best design the EU’s role in health while considering the complementarities between health policy and other policy areas. The multistakeholder Task Force includes representatives from EU institutions, member states, regions, industry, NGOs, and academia. The ultimate objective of the Task Force will be to translate the analysis into concrete policy recommendations that can impact EU policymaking and feed into the debate about the EU's role in health.
The findings of the Task Force discussion will feed into a final Discussion Paper, which will analyse the identified challenges and put forward policy recommendations. The Discussion Paper, with the main findings and recommendations, will be presented during a final high-level policy dialogue in 2023.