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 and more accessible 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 Action Plan on the Cybersecurity of Hospitals and Health Systems, the Critical Medicines Act, the Pharmaceutical Strategy for Europe, the European Preparedness Union Strategy and the Medical Countermeasures Strategy, the AICare@EU and the One Health approach, in order to set strong foundations for a European Health Union and revitalise innovation sectors to better meet patient needs and drive lasting impact;

2. 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;

3. Welcomes the proposed 17.6% increase in the EU4Health budget for 2026; stresses that this increase remains below the levels agreed in the MFF prior to the mid-term review; reiterates that this level is insufficient to meet the Union’s growing public health needs and the programme’s core objectives, supporting actions that enhance the availability, accessibility and affordability of medicinal products, medical devices and crisis-relevant products; reiterates the importance of a substantial increase in healthcare funding and the full execution of the budget lines, ensuring that resources reach 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 undermines their impact and effectiveness; encourages the mobilisation of additional resources through alternative channels, such as the Flexibility instrument;

4. Stresses the need for transparent, result-oriented public health spending, with a focus on cancer, rare diseases, mental health, digital health, the fight against AMR, vector-borne diseases, rare diseases and non-communicable diseases, and investment in the health workforce with targeted support for digital upskilling, while implementing regular reporting of key performance indicators to increase the accountability and transparency of the EU budget; reiterates the importance of cross-border health care, cross-border mobility of patients, particularly transplant patients, as well as the mobility of health professionals and coordinated pandemic response mechanisms across the EU, and with co-operation with global partners; calls for budget lines to support the digital transformation in health, including robotic and AI innovation, as well as telemedicine services for remote, island and outermost regions; highlights the need for dedicated funding for stockpiling, joint procurement, rapid response mechanisms, crisis preparedness and disease prevention to address strategic vulnerabilities;

5. Stresses that the reductions in the cluster “Health” of Horizon Europe will have a detrimental effect on the research and innovation for health, including the development and manufacturing of biotechnologies, severely impacting European research excellence, competitiveness and the quality of healthcare provided as a result of the research; calls for a revision of these appropriations to reflect the commitment of the European Commission in maintaining the European Union’s leadership in academic research and ground-breaking health innovation, protecting the European manufacturing and skills base; recalls that the Draghi Report proposes the doubling of the EU research and innovation budget, specifically to boost competitiveness, health innovation, and resilience; highlights the findings of the Letta Report on a resilient European healthcare sector, calling on the EU to act decisively to foster integration, research, and self-sufficiency in healthcare and pharmaceuticals and reduce dependency on third countries for critical supply chains by investing in self-sufficiency, joint procurement, and supply chain security;

6. Recognises that the increase in the commitment appropriations of the European Medicines Agency, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control merely cover the effects of inflation, and do not reflect an investment in upgrading their services and operational capabilities; welcomes the increase of 8.6% in the commitment appropriations of HaDEA.

The Chair in his capacity as rapporteur for opinion declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not receive input from any entity or person to be mentioned in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.