On 1st May 2020, MEPs sent a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Charles Michel, President of the European Council, calling to ensure the support of health policies and health systems in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).
29 MEPs from four political groups of the European Parliament (S&D, EPP, Renew Europe, GUE/NGL) sent a letter to Ms. Von der Leyen and Mr. Charles Michel urging them to prioritise health policies and health systems in the next EU budget (2021-2027). With an EU Health Programme’s budget (2014-2020) of €449 million, MEPs expressed their concern that the current MFF proposal earmarks only €413 million to the area of health. They were also worried that the proposal does not contain a Health Programme as such, but rather a Health Strand in the European Social Fund (ESF+), under the MFF’s heading ‘Cohesion and Values’.
Having the above in mind, MEPs call on the Commission and the European Council to:
Through this communication, MEPs put political pressure on the Commission and the European Council to improve the preparedness of the healthcare systems and their limited resilience. The letter is addressed in due course as the Commission is in the final stage of developing the new MFF proposal, expected to be published in the week of 18May.
The letter was co-signed by a group of cross-party (S&D, EPP, Renew Europe and GUE/NGL) and cross-country MEPs, who, in a united voice, call on two other EU legislative bodies to fill the gaps in the healthcare systems that were emphasised by the current pandemic. It is also interesting to note that most of the co-signatories do not deal with healthcare issues as part of their Parliamentary activities.
