Maybe in a separate committee very soon

Following the parliamentary summer break, the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Public Health (SANT) had its first regular meeting of the new legislative period on 9 September. There was a reunion with old and new faces on the committee. On the German side, MEPs Dr Peter Liese (EPP), Tiemo Wölken (S&D), Christine Anderson (PfE) and the newly elected MEP Oliver Schenk (EPP) are currently full members of the subcommittee. The agenda included an introductory debate on the health policy priorities for the 10th term of office. Chairman Adam Jarubas (EPP, PL) emphasised that the debate should provide orientation for their own work, even if they were aware of any impending political situation. This reminded him of the COVID-19 pandemic in the last legislative period.

SANT's priorities

In the SANT, it was unanimously agreed that inequalities in healthcare need to be addressed above all. This concerns both access to medicines and the availability thereof as well as the availability of healthcare personnel. The fight against antimicrobial resistance, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and measures to improve mental health should be addressed in the SANT same as the further implementation of the EU Beating Cancer Plan. In addition, some MEPs called for greater support of innovation and investment in the competitiveness of the healthcare system, for example through innovative medicinal products. Others criticised the privatisation of the healthcare system and called for investment in prevention and innovation in the public interest. Some MEPs also emphasised the importance of the holistic One Health approach, which integrates humans, animals and the environment into healthcare. Overall, joint collaboration of the European Union (EU) in the health sector was the basic thrust. Health does not stop at borders.

The significance of public health in the EU was viewed critically. Although there are only limited competences in this policy area, it is a pity that Ursula von der Leyen paid little attention to public health in her political guidelines 2025-2029. There are many areas of overlap with the Member States, such as the prevention of mental illness or cardiovascular disease, access to critical medicinal products or the fight against antibiotic resistance.

On the sideline

As there was no speaking time limit, a heated debate about the EU's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic erupted alongside the health policy discussion - fuelled by two new right-wing populist MEPs from the AfD (Alternative for Germany) and FPÖ (Freedom Party of Austria). They criticised the vaccination policy and called for more transparency in vaccination contracts.

The question of responsibilities

There was also a heated discussion on upgrading the subcommittee to a fully-fledged committee. Tomislav Sokol (EPP, CR) stated that the pandemic has shown that more can be done. Many MEPs confirmed that specialising purely in health issues would benefit the focus and topics of the committee. Others, such as Anja Hazekamp (Left, NL), consider the separation of the SANT Committee from the ENVI Committee to be a major mistake, which does not correspond to the One Health approach and rather serves the lobbying activities of the pharmaceutical industry. The SANT Committee must therefore remain an integral part of the ENVI Committee.

The official decision on this could be made in a few weeks. The cards - especially the seats for full and deputy members - will then be reshuffled, but the topics and priorities are likely to remain the same. Opinions may differ as to whether the topic of health will actually gain in importance as a result of an independent health committee in the EU, even after a decision has been made.