After the COVID-19 pandemic – which led to the creation of the so-called ″European Health Union″ – many expected health policy to become and remain a focus for the European Commission. However, with the nomination of the Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi for the health portfolio in the next Commission college, many stakeholders criticize that this is precisely not what has happened. But is this development really so surprising? And should the effects really be considered so dramatic? The simple answer is: No... and yes. Of course, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has thought about this nomination and the future division of individual responsibilities in the new college. As always, the overall picture must be looked at.
Traditionally, the health portfolio has always gone to smaller Member States, such as Lithuania or Cyprus. This is certainly due to the fact that health is a national competence unless certain circumstances call for the Commission to take action on the European level. This has certainly been necessary in the last few years due to threats to public health – and of course – where there is a solid legal basis in the EU treaties (think: Pharma legislation etc.).
But how does the European Commission want to position itself in the future when it comes to health policy that will also surely affect the pharmaceutical industry? In addition to the ongoing revision of the EU’s General Pharmaceutical Legislation, there are other heavyweight legislative initiatives. In the new legislative term, the revision of the chemical regulation REACH is highly likely. And let’s not forget that many Green Deal related pieces of legislature, like the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, still have to be implemented.
In the past, responsibilities within the European Commission were clearly allocated to the individual DGs. These include, in particular, Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) and Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW). When looking at the nominations for the new Commissioners and their future portfolios, it is noticeable that many responsibilities will complement each other in the future or even overlap in some cases. A look at the area of health and the respective mission letters offers further insight. Since we don’t want to torture you, here’s a closer look at the three most relevant ones:
Next to the obvious portfolio for “Health and Animal Welfare” (nominated: Olivér Várhelyi, Hungary), there is also the Commissioner for “Preparedness and Crisis Management” (Hadja Lahbib, Belgium) and a new Executive Vice-President for “Prosperity and Industrial Strategy” (Stéphane Séjourné, France). Besides a highly anticipated proposal for a new Critical Medicines Act, DG SANTE will also have to dish a proposal for a new European Biotech Act. The portfolio for “Preparedness and Crisis Management” on the other hand, includes the future responsibility for the further development of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (DG HERA). This will be remarkably interesting: in the preliminary stage to the announced Critical Medicines Act, the preparative Critical Medicines Alliance, is currently being supervised by both DG GROW and DG HERA. In future, this will be a good indicator of how well cooperation within the European Commission is managed and how thoroughly processes will be coordinated. Furthermore, the elevated Commissioner for “Prosperity and Industrial Strategy” will be responsible for the future development and management of strategic stockpiles and critical infrastructure. And there are obviously more initiatives which will have an impact on the pharmaceutical industry – environmental, digital and general proposals that will keep us more than busy. Will this distribution lead to a rather ruined porridge (as one says in Germany) or will this finally mean more coherence and less bureaucracy?
On a positive note, it should be emphasised that the European Commission appears to want to take a broader view of health issues in the future and clearly link them with strategic and industrial policy issues. The newly introduced organisational chart structure within the new college also sheds light on this. The future core health portfolio is to be closely linked to the new industrial orientation of the European Community. This could enable the industry to have a stronger voice in ongoing health policy negotiations in the future. Ongoing discussions such as drug shortages or general access to medicines could thus reach a less emotional and more rational level in the political debate.
However, only time will tell how good this ‘co-operation’ within the European Commission will be in the future.
Contact: David Breyer, (BPI office Brussels) bpi.brussels@bpi.de
Hinweis: Die Verwendung des Fotos ist unter der Quellenangabe und in Verbindung mit dem Brussels Background honorarfrei. Das Bild wurde mit AI generiert.