On 1 January 2024, Belgium took over the rotating Presidency of the Council of the European Union, under the motto “A Europe that cares, prepares and protects”.
The Belgian Council Presidency priorities are listed HERE
As already anticipated, under the Belgian Presidency, health will revolve around three overarching themes: preparedness, care, and protection. The Presidency will emphasize the importance of strengthening the EU’s resilience to future health threats by reinforcing crisis management, supporting healthcare systems, and improving the security of medicines supply. This way, the Belgian Presidency will put forward priorities for the next legislative term of the European Union.
In particular, Belgium will endeavor to:
- finish the ongoing trilogues on the European Health Data Space and the Regulation on Substances of Human Origin
- move forward on the pharmaceutical legislation and the recommendation on vaccine preventable cancers
- shape the health agenda for the next European Commission (2024-2029)
Policy areas in focus:
– health workforce
– unmet needs
– prevention of non-communicable diseases
– EU capacity for large scale clinical trials
– antimicrobial resistance
– international health regulations
– medicine shortages
There is also an overview of planned events, including:
– High-level conference on the future EU Health Union (26-27/3)
– High-level conference on healthcare needs as drivers for healthcare policy and innovation (17-18/4)
– Integrating Care. Strengthening communities: the data connection (2-3/5)
– The Genome Data Infrastructure and Genome of Europe – towards R&I and healthcare of the future (28-29/5)