Health is a strategic investment for Europe: Member States must match European Parliament’s ambition for EU health budget

The European Commission’s proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028-2034 would eliminate EU4Health, the EU’s only dedicated health programme, channeling all health funding through an industrially-focused competitiveness fund. 

The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), the European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN) and the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) call on the Council to support the Parliament’s vision to protect EU4Health as a ring-fenced programme and prioritise long-term investment in Europe’s health sector as a whole.

“Dedicated EU health funding is essential - now it must be matched with the right priorities,” says Jan Willem Goudriaan, EPSU General Secretary. “Europe’s health and care systems are facing a public services emergency, driven in large part by workforce shortages and poor working conditions. The EU budget must support long-term investment in the workers who keep these systems running.”

Dr Ole Johan Bakke, CPME President, added “Investing in health is not a cost, but a strategic investment in the EU’s future. Adequate resources are vital to collaborate on current challenges, prepare for future crises, and ensure a coherent long-term vision for health. By making health a central pillar of its budget, the EU can lead by example in promoting equity, resilience, and shared prosperity.”

Paul De Raeve, EFN Secretary General, raised that “By voting in favour of increasing the EU funding for healthcare in the next MFF, the European Parliament showed it took on board EFN position as set out in the EFN Policy Statement on the next EU MFF, providing key support for keeping the education of nurses high on the EU political agenda! It is crucial now for the Council to support the MEPs demands for practical solutions to turn around the shortage of especially nurses and doctors in the healthcare sector, as outlined in the European Parliament INI Report on the health workforce”. 

Notes for editors:

The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU) is the largest European federation representing over 260 national trade unions and uniting 8 million members across the Pan-European region. The majority of EPSU’s members work in the health and social services sector. EPSU is the recognised European Social Partner in six European Sectoral Social Dialogue Committees, including those for health, hospitals, and social services. At the EU level, EPSU is a member organisation of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and at the global level, it serves as the regional representative of Public Services International (PSI).

The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) represents national medical associations across Europe. We are committed to contributing to the medical profession’s point of view to EU institutions and European policy-making through pro-active cooperation on a wide range of health and healthcare-related issues.

The European Federation of Nurses Associations (EFN) was established in 1971. The EFN represents over 38 National Nurses Associations and its work has an effect on the daily work of 3 million nurses throughout the European Union and 6 million in Europe. The EFN is the independent voice of the nursing profession, and its mission is to strengthen the status and practice of the profession of nursing for the benefit of the health of the citizens and the interests of nurses in the EU and Europe.