11 EU countries want to use defense funds to purchase critical medicines
Kyiv • UNN
Health ministers from 11 EU member states propose to include the procurement of essential medicines in the defense funds. The initiative could access part of the funds from the "Rearm Europe" plan worth 800 billion euros.
A group of health ministers from 11 EU member states has proposed including the procurement of critically important medicines within the scope of the EU's Security and Defense Funds.
Reports UNN citing Euronews.
The health ministers of Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, and Estonia have called for the integration of the Critical Medicines Act into the EU's strategy for ensuring autonomy and security.
The proposal aims to transform the initiative into a large-scale strategic program supported by EU defense funding, according to the material from Euronews.
The Critical Medicines Act should be a reliable tool. Part of its funding should be included in broader EU defense spending plans, including financial mechanisms of the new defense package. Ultimately, without essential medicines, Europe's defense capability is compromised
For reference
The Critical Medicines Act is one of the key priorities of the European Commission in the field of health and aims to address the issue of acute shortages of essential medicines. It focuses on medicines that are difficult to obtain or whose supplies depend on a few manufacturers or countries.
The Commission is preparing a legislative initiative on an expedited basis, but the haste has raised some concerns that developers may have underestimated the potential impact and consequences of the new measures, writes Euronews.
The Critical Medicines Act
Regarding plans to use defense funds for the procurement of critically important medicines.
Access to 800 billion euros is expected, which the European Commission is to mobilize over the next four years under the "Rearm Europe" plan. Key provisions were already agreed upon by leaders at the extraordinary EU summit last week.
Thanks to the new mechanism that will allow the Commission to borrow on capital markets, issue bonds, and provide loans to member states, around 150 billion euros is expected to be raised.
Implications for health budgets
The fate of the EU special fund for enhancing the resilience of health systems is currently a pressing issue in the EU. The EU4Health program, developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, received funding of 5.3 billion euros, which was considered significant assistance. However, recent changes in the budget should also be taken into account. In this regard, it is worth noting the reallocation of 1 billion euros from EU4Health for partial funding of the aid package to Ukraine.
Health expenditure articles may be combined with others. Defense spending may be expanded to include the procurement of vital medicines.
This concerns an amount of up to 1.5% of GDP. It is also noted that they will not be limited in the next 4 years.
If the European Commission and the European Parliament approve this proposal from the 11 countries, it will be included in the agenda for the expedited discussion of the Critical Medicines Act.
