Health

10.1) Establish common minimum healthcare standards at EU level, covering also prevention and accessibility as well as proximity of care, and provide support to achieve these standards.

* This measure has been identified as needing Treaty change for full implementation.

10.2) Recognising the need to take full account of the principle of subsidiarity and the key role of local, regional and national players in health matter [NL3], ensure there is the ability to act at EU level when the right to health is best addressed there. To allow faster and stronger decision-making on key subjects and to improve the effectiveness of European governance towards the development of the European Health Union (such as, for example, in the event of a pandemic or for rare diseases).

10.3) Enhance the European Health Union using the full potential of the current framework and include health and healthcare among the shared competencies between the EU and the EU Member States by amending Article 4 TFUE.

* This measure has been identified as needing Treaty change for full implementation.

10.4) Make sure anyone can access existing treatments, wherever first available in the EU; to that purpose, facilitate cross-border cooperation, notably on rare diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases and highly specialised treatments, such as organ transplants and the treatments of severe burns. A European network for transplants and organ donations should be put in place for the benefit of all European patients in need of a transplant

10.5) Ensure affordability of care, through stronger investment in healthcare, in particular of dental care including prophylaxis, and ensure affordable dental care is available to everyone within 15 to 20 years.


There are currently no implementing initiatives that address this particular CoFE measure.

10.6) Ensure that treatments and medicines across the EU are of equal quality and of fair local cost, including through tackling existing fragmentation of the Internal Market.

10.7) Fight health poverty by encouraging free of charge dental care for children, low-income groups and other vulnerable groups, such as for instance the disabled. Also consider the impact of poor-quality housing on health.


There are currently no implementing initiatives that address this particular CoFE measure.

10.8) Consider the international dimension to health and recognise that medicines should be universally available, including in poorer countries.