General budget of the European Union for the financial year 2026 – all sections

The Committee on Public Health calls on the Committee on Budgets, as the committee responsible, to incorporate the following into its motion for a resolution:

1. Calls on the Commission, Member States and relevant stakeholders to urgently identify practical solutions to build stronger, more resilient, more competitive, more accessible, and more affordable public health systems; stresses the need to allocate adequate human and financial resources to swiftly implement legislation in the areas of public health, focusing on several key priorities like the successful implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS), Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the Healthier Together Initiative, the Comprehensive Approach to Mental Health, the EU Research Mission on Cancer, the Action Plan on the Cybersecurity of Hospitals and Health Systems, the forthcoming Critical Medicines Act, the General Pharmaceutical Law, the European Preparedness Union Strategy and the Medical Countermeasures Strategy, the Biotech Act, the Clinical Trials regulation, the AICare@EU and the One Health approach, in order to set strong foundations for a European Health Union, in line with Member States’ competences, and revitalise innovation sectors to better meet patient needs, promote preventive care and drive lasting impact;

2. Calls on the Commission to ensure that public health systems are duly recognised as a sector of strategic autonomy and security within Union funding frameworks; highlights that investments in public health infrastructure should prioritise underserved regions and social backgrounds, reducing disparities in access; calls for adequate funding for measures addressing social determinants of health, such as poverty, housing, education and food security, to reduce health inequalities and improve overall well-being;

3. Calls for the alignment of national recovery and cohesion funding with EU health objectives, supporting investments in resilient local health infrastructure, stockpiles, and training for frontline workers; identifies the importance of introducing mental health education and early prevention and diagnosis in school curricula; stresses that adequate funding should be allocated to prevention, vaccination and life-course immunisation; stresses the growing public health challenge of climate change; highlights that EU funding for climate adaptation should systematically integrate health-related risks, particularly those linked to extreme weather events, air quality, and vector-borne diseases;

4. Highlights the importance of enhancing the Union’s global role with the appropriate funding for initiatives that address public health globally, including the cooperation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and global partners , including advancing the EU and WHO goals, and jointly securing UN Sustainable Development Goals, in regard to public health; welcomes the Commission's strategy for preparedness and response to future health threats, which focuses on a more stringent surveillance, on early warning and coordination between Member States;

5. Welcomes the proposed 17.6% increase in the EU4Health budget for 2026, compared to 2025 figures; stresses that this increase remains below the levels agreed in the MFF prior to the mid-term review; regrets that the Council proposed a cut of €97.3 million; calls for an agreement that increases the draft budget allocation for the EU4Health Programme; reiterates that this level is insufficient to meet the Union’s growing public health needs, increased demographic pressures and the programme’s core objectives, supporting actions that enhance the availability, accessibility and affordability of medicinal products, medical devices and crisis-relevant products;

6 Notes that strengthening Europe’s brain capital is essential to mitigate productivity losses, foster resilience and ensure long-term innovation capacity; reiterates the importance of a substantial increase in healthcare funding and the full execution of the budget lines, ensuring that resources reach beneficiary Member States and support tangible improvements to public health; recalls that the Draghi Report highlights that current EU programmes are underfunded, bureaucratic, and that fragmented spending and duplication of efforts undermines their impact and effectiveness; considers that the proposed funding for the Critical Medicines Act can hinder the effectiveness of the proposal;

7. Stresses that the decreases in the Cohesion Fund have a detrimental effect in the health related categories covering services, infrastructure, equipment, digitalisation and resilience, with a substantially negative effect for regions and communities who receive the funds; calls on the Commission to develop and fund a targeted EU programme to improve access to health, as well as telemedicine services for remote, rural, and mountainous, island and outermost regions, supporting mobile health units, local telemedicine hubs, and incentives for medical staff, with particular attention to addressing existing health inequalities between Eastern and Western Member States, and ensuring fair distribution of resources in regions facing structural disadvantages;

8 Calls for the alignment of national recovery and cohesion funding with EU health preparedness objectives, supporting investments in resilient local health infrastructure, stockpiles, and training for frontline workers; encourages the mobilisation of additional resources through alternative channels; calls on the Commission to mainstream public health objectives across budgetary instruments and funds, establishing health as a transversal investment priority within the MFF; calls for strict conditionality to ensure EU4Health funds are directed to investments that benefit public health, including strengthening sexual and reproductive health.

9. Stresses the need for transparent, result-oriented public health spending, with a focus on mental health, and neurological disorders, digital health, AMR, zoonotic diseases, and non-communicable diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, rare diseases and cancer, primary care, promotion of healthy lifestyles and investment in the health workforce, including targeted support for digital upskilling; highlights that regular reporting of key performance indicators is needed to increase the accountability and transparency of the EU budget; calls for synergies with the ESF+ programme to upskill and reskill healthcare professionals, especially in digital tools and community-based care models;

10. Underlines that combating AMR requires dedicated funding to support research into modern, innovative solutions; emphasizes that investing in high-quality public healthcare systems, including effective infection prevention and control measures, diagnostics, working conditions, clinical competencies, and accessibility awareness for the health workforce are key to reducing health inequalities across the Union;

11. Recalls the conclusions of the WHO report “Health and care workforce in Europe: time to act”, that mobility of health professionals should not be at the detriment of already understaffed areas; calls on the Commission to ensure the retention of healthcare professionals through targeted incentives, professional development opportunities and concrete measures to attract and support healthcare workers, particularly in underserved areas such as rural, remote and outermost regions; stresses the urgent need to improve the working conditions of healthcare professionals; underlines the crucial need to support the prompt training of new health professionals, including it as a priority to ESF+ and cohesion funds; calls for increased funding and targeted measures to improve access to high-quality healthcare services, innovative treatments for cardiovascular diseases, cancer, mental health conditions, rare diseases, and digital healthcare solutions , including early diagnosis, treatment of paediatric diseases, mental health support, and promotion of child-specific preventive care, including mental health programmes ; calls for the allocation of specific budget lines in this regard, including training of mental health professionals, development of evidence-based prevention curricula and provision of digital tools for early detection and intervention, including the expansion of school and university-based mental health services and trainings;