The European Commission proposal on the next long-term EU budget – the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) – has been received by the Council of European Dentists (CED), the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) and the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) as a positive first step which acknowledges health as a way of investing in people.

The current proposal does not foresee a specific financing tool for EU initiatives in the field of health but allocates health to the European Social Fund. This approach must guarantee a proper allocation of financial resources for health and cannot result in health competing with other social policies. Also, the proposed flexibility for the reallocation of resources may not affect the allocated amount for health. Furthermore, the Commission will have to clarify how this approach will be translated in terms of policy governance and if a dedicated Directorate for health will continue to have the full responsibility for the implementation of EU health policies.

“The Commission’s approach to define health as part of social policies is certainly more adequate than opting for a purely economic approach. It must now be ensured that the necessary policy expertise is safeguarded, so this instrument can fulfil this aspiration” commented Dr Jacques de Haller, CPME President.

“The next EU budget will shape the EU policy priorities post-2020. It remains to be clarified how this budget will translate into policy and governance on health for the next decade” said Dr Marco Landi, CED President.

“The future EU policy priorities need to reflect the EU’s responsibility to implement the Sustainable Development Goals on public health, health systems and environment-related health problems and should support Member States in eliminating growing health inequalities. Therefore, it is important to continuously invest in health.” argued Mr Jesus Aguilar Santamaria, PGEU President.

The Council of European Dentists (CED) is a European not-for-profit association representing over 340,000 dental practitioners across Europe through 32 national dental associations and chambers in 30 European countries. Established in 1961 to advise the European Commission on matters relating to the dental profession, the CED aims to promote high standards on oral healthcare and dentistry with effective patient-safety centred professional practice, and to contribute to safeguarding the protection of public health. The CED is registered in the Transparency Register with the ID number 4885579968-84.

The Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME) represents national medical associations across Europe. We are committed to contributing 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.

• We believe the best possible quality of health and access to healthcare should be a reality for everyone.
• We see the patient-doctor relationship as fundamental in achieving these objectives.
• We are committed to interdisciplinary cooperation among doctors and with other health professions.
• We strongly advocate a ‘health in all policies’ approach to encourage cross-sectorial awareness for and action on the determinants of health.

The Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) is the association representing community pharmacists in 33 European countries. In Europe over 400.000 community pharmacists provide services throughout a network of more than 160.000 pharmacies, to an estimated 46 million European citizens daily. PGEU’s objective is to promote the role of pharmacists as key players in healthcare systems throughout Europe and to ensure that the views of the pharmacy profession are taken into account in the EU decision-making process.