European Parliament sets up subcommittee on Public Health to tackle health challenges

The Conference of Presidents in the European Parliament has agreed this morning, on the initiative of Renew Europe, to set up a subcommittee on Public Health. With today’s agreement on the establishment of this subcommittee an important milestone is being set towards the strengthening of a genuine European Health Union.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the need for a strong and decisive European Health Union. It is therefore justified to transform the "Health Working Group" of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety into a subcommittee on Public Health. In its functioning the subcommittee shall be responsible for public health matters and specifically the programs and actions in the field of public health challenges, the prevention of communicable and non- communicable diseases, cross – border health threats, medical products including pharmaceutical, medical devices, the European Medicines Agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority. This subcommittee will not have any legislative power, which will remain in the ENVI committee.

From the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Renew Europe proposed key actions for setting up a better prepared and effective European approach to any kind of health challenge. With the green light today on the creation of the subcommittee on Public Health, the European Parliament has now the right tool in its hands to safeguarding the health of all our citizens.

MEP Pascal Canfin (l’Europe Ensemble, France) chair of ENVI committee says about the creation of this new sub- committee in ENVI: “This committee will help step up the work on public health issues following the COVID-19 crisis and the lessons we have learnt since then.”

MEP Véronique Trillet – Lenoir (l’Europe Ensemble, France) says on the creation of the sub-committee on Public Health: “I welcome the decision of the European Parliament to set up this sub-committee on health. The health crisis has shown us more than once the crucial need to strengthen European health competences and to build a real European Health Union, which is an important request of our European citizens.”