Commissioner Costas Kadis debated in plenary EU action on disease prevention

Strasbourg (eu24news)  – The health sector is one of the most important in public spending. Health matters have gained prominence in the last years in the framework of debates on public spending and adequate levels of social protection during the economic crisis. Nevertheless, the pressures to reform national health systems were building up well before the economic crisis took hold. Pressures are connected to an ageing population, the burden from chronic diseases, the cost of new technologies, and an overall increasing demand for healthcare.

In the light of this, MEPs and Commissioner Costas Kadis debated in plenary in Strasbourg EU action on treating and preventing conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular neurological diseases, and measles.

MEP Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA) said “ Prevention works, and yet it’s still the most neglected part of our health system. We spend billions on treatment, but far too little on stopping disease before it begins. We need to invest in the conditions that keep people healthy: clean air, clean water, affordable and healthy food, decent housing. That is why policies like the European Green Deal and the common agricultural policy play a crucial role. Those are not environmental luxuries; they are essential tools for protecting public health”. She highlighted that prevention alone is not enough “we must guarantee affordable and timely access to effective treatment for all, regardless of income or geography. That means making pharmaceutical legislation and innovation conditional on affordability”.

During the plenary debate, Metz MEP catched the opportunity to talk again about the question of tobacco. “We need to tackle tobacco. It remains one of the leading causes of death in Europe – let’s stop beating around the bush”, she said.

“The European Union has shown that joint action can protect citizens’ health, as demonstrated by the success of the EU Beating Cancer Plan”, said MEP Tomislav Sokol MEP (EPP). The EPP Group has a strong and consolidated position in Parliament in the fight against cancer. “It’s now time for equally ambitious strategies – he added – for cardiovascular, rare, and neurological diseases, with clear goals, measurable benchmarks, dedicated funding, and a strong focus on prevention and innovation. Maintaining health as a priority in the next Multiannual Financial Framework is of immense importance, and plenary debates like this one are essential to ensure health remains high on the EU agenda”. According to the MEP “investing in health is not a cost, but a vital investment in Europe’s future”.

MEP Christophe Clergeau (S&D) talked about a “revolution” in the health sector. “The revolution I am calling for is the revolution of prevention. Because care is essential and it must be done better, but it is not an end in itself. The goal is to live well and age well, in good health. This requires prevention, which is the best investment, while non-action, on the contrary, results in millions of deaths and billions of euros in unnecessary spending”, he said. Moreover, he called for “a major mental health program and a major women’s health program”.