Current health emergency affects all Member States equally.

On 18 March 2020, the European Social Insurance Platform (ESIP), the International Association of Health Care Mutuals (AIM), the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) and the European Hospital and Healthcare Federation (HOPE) signed a letter addressed to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides concerning EU measures to deal with the corona pandemic.

ESIP, together with the other signatories, welcomed the speedy provision of funds through the ‘Corona Response Investment Initiative’. The aim of the initiative is to enable Member States to redirect EU funding from the Structural Funds to national health systems, businesses and labour markets. Structural and investment funds include the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), the Cohesion Fund, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

The European healthcare associations fully support the European Union’s efforts to combat the COVID 19 pandemic. The current health emergency affects all Member States equally. It is therefore imperative to find joint solutions to this unprecedented crisis.

It is essential to ensure that healthcare professionals have access to appropriate equipment and that patients receive the  treatment they need during efforts to slow down the spread of the virus. The associations also advocate measures to coordinate the provision of protective equipment to doctors’ surgeries, pharmacies and hospitals in the EU.

The European healthcare associations have offered their specialist expertise to European policy makers during the corona pandemic and remain reliable partners for this and future challenges in European health policy.

The letter to the European Commission can be read here.