The report prepared by Mureşan and Tavares also highlights the role of the EU4Health program, which saw its budget reduced from €5.3 billion to €4.4 billion following the last MFF revision in 2024.
Seeking to reverse this trend, the Health Committee report calls on the European Commission “to ensure that the MFF 2028-2034 allocates an ambitious budget for the EU4Health program, reflecting the growing need for a robust, resilient, and well-funded European health policy.”
The MFF should address workforce shortages in the healthcare sector, the report said. Europe faces a shortfall of 1.2 million healthcare professionals, an OECD report last November on the EU’s healthcare system said.
Health Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi stated on Tuesday that “every euro spent on health must be spent as efficiently as possible” to tackle the labour shortage.
Health Committee MEPs also wish to amend the report by adding that like energy, transport, and digital infrastructure, health should receive “much greater funding.”
The next MFF should acknowledge that a competitive Europe – the mantra of the new Commission headed by its president, Ursula von der Leyen – includes adequate funding for public health, innovation, prevention, and digital health infrastructures, commilttee MEPs said.
Committee members want to ensure that an “ambitious” budget will be allocated to the Health Cluster of the Horizon Europe program to support research and development in critical areas where market failures exist.
MEPs also want the committee report amended to say sufficient resources must be made available for the EU to develop and store essential medical supplies. The Commission presented its Critical Medicines Act last week.
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