EU Parliament criticizes cuts to health funding in February

In February, the European Council agreed to significant cuts to health funding, which has drawn sharp criticism from the new Chair of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee (ENVI), Antonio Decaro MEP. He expressed his discontent in a letter to the Chair of the Parliament’s Budget Committee, Johan Van Overtveldt MEP, highlighting a €1 billion reduction to the EU4Health programme for the 2025-2027 period, translating to a €189 million cut in 2025. This reduction has raised concerns among MEPs regarding the impact on health and environmental initiatives. The Parliament is advocating for the use of the EU’s Flexibility Instrument, which has a total of €9.2 billion available for the 2021-2027 period, to address the funding shortfall. Additionally, there are calls to reverse cuts to the Horizon Health Cluster, which is crucial for research into various diseases, especially in light of the pandemic's strain on health resources. MEPs believe that the Single Margin Instrument could also be utilized to fill these financial gaps. Support for amendments related to health funding has come from a majority of lawmakers across various political groups, including the European People’s Party (EPP), Social Democrats (S&D), Renew, and the Greens/European Free Alliance (Greens/EFA). Despite the widespread disapproval of the cuts, some members, like Alexandr Vondra MEP, acknowledged the difficult decisions made by the European Council, which prioritized over €10 billion in support for Ukraine. The cuts are expected to hinder critical health initiatives, including the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), which plays a vital role in combating issues like antimicrobial resistance. The potential consequences of these funding reductions could have dire implications for public health across Europe.