COVID, inflation, and energy transition among arguments for greater EU attention and funding.

Local and regional leaders across Europe have called for a renewed focus on health promotion and prevention in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, rising prices, and the energy transition. In an opinion adopted on 29 November, the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) also urged the European Commission to re-evaluate the impact on health inequalities of factors like air pollution, water quality, and access to nutritious food.

The calls – made in an opinion on "The role of cities as health promoters" – was coupled with advocacy for a stronger focus on health promotion and prevention in the mid-term review of the EU budget and the EU Health Programme. The opinion, drafted by member of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Regional Assembly, Adam Banaszak, stresses that the COVID-19 pandemic, along with the energy, housing, and food crises, has highlighted the need for a fresh examination of the health status of European citizens.

The opinion highlights the importance of local action in promoting physical and mental health, emphasising initiatives ranging from improving water quality to promoting physical activity and urban planning that encourages walking and cycling. It also calls for increased investment in preventive care and vaccinations.​

Other specific areas highlighted in the recommendations include:

• Urban planning: The CoR calls on city councils to promote and facilitate urban design strategies that can create pedestrian and cycle-friendly communities with safe, attractive and accessible public open spaces which are associated with a reduced risk of non-communicable diseases and represent an investment in public health.
• Physical activity and nutrition: Local leaders call on the European Commission to prepare a follow-up to the 2014-2020 EU Action Plan on Childhood Obesity, involving the CoR in its development and implementation. They also press Member States to take action to promote physical activity and healthy food among children and young people.

The CoR also called for the European Commission to prepare a new study on social determinants of health in the EU, as a sequel to the 2013 major study.

According to a study carried out by the URBACT Healthy Cities Network, approximately 75% of human health depends on the environment in which we live. Virtually every city dweller in Europe (97%) is exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution and 20% of the EU population lives in areas where noise levels are harmful to health.

Quote

The rapporteur Adam Banaszak (PL/ECR), member of Kujawsko-Pomorskie Regional Assembly, said: "Local governments across the EU have a key role to play in reducing health disparities and in advancing people's circumstances and opportunities for health, including supporting healthy lifestyles. Elected representatives should include health considerations in their policy-making processes and prioritise health promotion and healthy living when deciding on urban planning, early childhood and education, long-term care and many other sectors."

Next steps

On 30 November, CoR’s Interregional Group on Health and Well-being meeting on green sustainability of healthcare systems will be held. Building a greener and more sustainable health system by promoting open dialogue and a shared understanding of the issues at all levels of action, from European to regional and local, will be the theme of the meeting.

Background information

Health policy is determined by national governments, although in 19 of the 27 Member States, local and regional authorities have primary responsibility for planning, organising and delivering healthcare services to citizens. The CoR collaborates closely with a whole range of non-government organisations active in the field of public health. Since 2016, the Committee has worked with the UN WHO Regional Office for Europe, connecting local and regional health policy and practice with a global health vision. This includes collaboration with the WHO Regions for Health Network and Healthy Cities Network.

The first initiatives towards the European Health Union were launched by the European Commission in November 2020. Drawing on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, its goal was to strengthen the EU's health security preparedness and to bolster key EU agencies' crisis response. It included three legislative acts: one on serious cross-border health threats, one on new mandates for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and one on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The Health and Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) that was proposed a year later was designed to complement the Health Union.

Since 2020 the CoR has adopted the following health-focused opinions: "Regulation on the European Health Data Space" by rapporteur Daniela Cîmpean (RO/EPP); "Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority" by rapporteur Christophe Clergeau (FR/PES); "Europe's Beating Cancer Plan", "A pharmaceutical strategy for Europe and legislative proposal for changing the mandate of the European Medicines Agency (EMA)", and "EU Health Emergency Mechanism" all by rapporteur Birgitta Sacrédeus (SE/EPP); "Cross-border health threats and the mandate of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control" by rapporteur Olgierd Geblewicz (PL/EPP); "European Health Union: Reinforcing the EU’s resilience" by rapporteur Roberto Ciambetti (IT/ECR); and "Cross-border health care" by rapporteur Karsten Uno Petersen (DK/PES).

The CoR's Interregional Group on Health and Well-being was set up in 2010 to enable all members and alternate members of the CoR, not just the members of the Commission for Natural Resources (NAT), to share viewpoints on EU policy issues related to healthcare and public health. The interregional group also seeks to enhance dialogue with other EU institutions without impinging upon the remit of the NAT Commission itself.

EUREGHA is the reference network for European regional and local health authorities. By bringing together regional and local health authorities from across Europe, the network offers a unique variety of experiences.

Text of the opinion

Pictures from the Plenary of the CoR

Contact:

Wioletta Wojewodzka

Tel. +32 (0) 473 84 39 86

wioletta.wojewodzka@cor.europa.eu