On May 9th, the EU prime ministers and presidents convened in Sibiu (Romania) to discuss the Future of Europe. The purpose of the meeting was the renewal of the leaders’ commitment to the EU, as well as the preparation of the ‘strategic agenda’ up to 2024.
Taking place in view of the upcoming European elections at the end of May 2019, Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker and European Parliament president Antonio Tajani also joined the meeting.
European Commission released contribution to the discussion
Ahead of the meeting, the Commission had released its own contribution to the discussions. It took stock of the achievements over the last five years and made recommendations for strategic reflection.
As a way to make Europe a fairer place, the Commission wishes to see the promotion of high-quality, affordable and accessible healthcare through digital transformation of the health systems. In this respect, the EU should take action to improve medicine availability and access to therapies across the region.
As regards the environment, the Commission stresses that the citizens in Europe expect the EU to become a global leader on climate action and environmental protection.
Sibiu Declaration reaffirms commitment to the European Union
The Sibiu Declaration that followed the high-level summit, reaffirmed the commitment of leaders to the European Union, and their responsibility to work for a stronger EU. Yet, the 10 recommendations adopted, largely stay at a generic level, avoiding any specific reflections on sectoral policies. Unfortunately, commitments to concrete actions on health policy are missing.
At EFA we firmly believe that a healthy population is the prerequisite to any forward-looking strategy. Therefore, priority should be given to policies that promote the status of public health and the wellbeing of people across Europe, especially those of the most vulnerable, such as allergy and airways diseases patients. This is why we are asking policy makers to #ShowLeadership for patients.