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| | Hello Euractiv’s health team followed the entire Várhelyi hearing, so that you don’t have to! Learn more about the ups and downs, the highs and the lows. Today’s news
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| 🟡 Commissioner-designate hearings |
| | Olivér Várhelyi struggles to convince MEPs |
| Yesterday evening (6 November), Commissioner-designate for Health, Olivér Várhelyi, faced MEPs keen to probe into his views and expertise.
While the EPP is cautious about the Commissioner-designate presented by Budapest, Olivér Várhelyi faced more challenging questions from the Socialists and Centrists.
With the backing of The Left and the Greens/EFA, the S&D and Renew Europe questioned the prospective Health Commissioner on the issues of abortion and access to healthcare for the LGBT community, given that the government of Orbán, which proposed Várhelyi for this post, is often criticised on these topics.
Hostilities began from the get-go when French MEP Christophe Clergeau (S&D) asked him to be clear about his personal convictions and stance on abortion and reproductive and sexual health. “Will you support the introduction of sexual and reproductive rights in the European Charter of Fundamental Rights?” asked Clergeau.
Competitiveness at the heart of the agenda Far more comfortable when questioned by members of the EPP or ECR, Várhelyi took advantage of these moments to play his card on competitiveness. On these topics, the candidate for the health commissioner position assured that he would focus on reducing administrative burdens and outlined his action plan for the coming mandate.
He said he wants to commit to finding a "balanced political agreement" on the Pharma package and to emphasize a future Biotech Act to act as a "driving force," combining AI and data, particularly within the framework of the European Health Data Space. Read our full article here. [TM]
Recap: A quick overview of the hearing. Competitiveness: In line with his “competitiveness” approach, throughout the hearing Várhelyi showed concern for protecting patents, the need for AI implementation in research, and addressing EU pharma R&D, particularly in response to MEP Tomislav Sokol (EPP, Croatia).
CMA: In his opening remarks, he said he would tackle the Critical Medicines Act in his first 100 days, if elected.
Budget: Questioned on the EU4Health budget by ECR’s Ruggero Razza and its proposed cuts, the candidate said this put him in a “difficult spot” as many things had to be held in balance during the next MFF, including financing for farmers.
Tobacco: On prevention and the Beating Cancer plan, Várhelyi said he was open to tackling tobacco through product regulation, stating that tobacco is the single biggest cause of cancer and cardiovascular disease. He was short on detail for what should be done about new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes, however.
Preparedness: EPP’s Esther Herranz García quizzed Várhelyi on the recent floods in Valencia, Spain and whether he would enhance future health preparedness in the EU, which the commissioner-designate said he would address through HERA.
Mental health: On mental health support, he stated that funds were limited, and it should fall within the competencies of member states. “I think we have initiatives for this,” he said, without expanding on the EU’s flagship projects for mental health.
EHDS: On the European Health Data Space, the candidate stated that “anonymous data is a raw material on which we can build.”
Reproductive health: Abortion and where he stood on women’s health were brought up several times throughout the hearing by S&D, EPP and Green MEPs, topics he continued to dodge. [EP] Back to the top |
| | Lahbib challenged on EU’s pandemics readiness |
| Commissioner-designate for preparedness and crisis management, equality, Hadja Lahbib, faced a barrage of public health-related questions at her hearing before MEPs on Wednesday (6 November).
"The COVID pandemic taught us hard lessons about the limits of our readiness. Not one country can tackle a global health emergency alone," Lahbib told MEPs at the beginning of her hearing.
They asked her about preparedness for future health crises. "If confirmed, I will work to develop a new strategy to support medical countermeasures to address public health threats," she said. The commissioner-designate detailed that it would include joint procurement, stockpiling and working to secure medicines from research to manufacturing.
MEPs then asked her how she would tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) threats
Lahbib told MEPs she would support the development of new types of antibiotics as she considered old ones not sufficiently effective. "Since 2017, only 14 new antibiotics have been produced," she warned.
Regarding CBRN threats, Lahbib said, "We must also make sure that our Union is prepared." Developing the capacity to deal with CBRN threats will be one of her priorities, but she added, “We need trust." Read the full article here. [CBB] Back to the top |
| | 🟡 Parliament SANT committee |
| | Remit of the new standing committee on health emerges |
| "The creation of the SANT committee was de facto agreed with the S&D in July," Renew's Pascal Canfin told reporters this afternoon, noting that an agreement has now been reached on the details of the split.
"It was discussed and agreed this afternoon by Weber (EPP), Iratxe [Garcia] (S&D)and Valerie [Hayer] (Renew)," Canfin added.
The public health committee will be responsible for issues relating to pharmaceuticals and medical devices, programmes and specific actions in the field of public health preparedness and response to health crises, mental health and patient rights, health aspects of bioterrorism, the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and relations with the WHO on the above issues. Read the full story here. Back to the top |
| | | | On the campaign trail Trump promised to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ but what will this mean in office? |
| Trump wants to replace the Affordable Care Act, the Obama administration's totemic achievement, with an approach that he says will be cheaper and better. Other than some broad brush remarks, we do not know what this would mean.
The Heritage Foundation, which backed Trump, wrote a detailed ‘Mandate for Leadership for 2025’, that could shed some light on what’s in store. Including more private insurance, more personal responsibility and keeping health spending at a level, “appropriate to protect the taxpayer.”
‘Go wild’: Trump was endorsed by the vaccine conspiracy supporter, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In an interview, Trump said that he is open to banning vaccines, and has promised Kennedy "control of the public health agencies."
Global health: A Trump presidency doesn’t bode well for a future pandemic agreement, or the World Health Organization (WHO). When last in office, Trump threatened to freeze funding to the WHO, accusing it of being biased in favour of China. The threat came in 2020 when funding had already been secured for 2020. A similar action in 2025 could be devastating. The greatest threat to public health rests within the United States. Questions of reproductive and sexual health, in particular, which were vote winners for Kamala Harris, are now very much under threat.
The scientific community has faced particular vilification from Republicans over the last four years. For prominent figures like Anthony Fauci this led to death threats and a need for personal security.
What we can confidently predict is that demonising public servants, undermining scientists working on health and latching on to baseless conspiracies is unlikely to ‘Make America Healthy Again’. Read our full article here. Back to the top |
| | | | Health Council set to approve its smoke-free recommendation after Coreper approval |
| On Wednesday, 6 November, the ambassadors of EU member states, meeting in Coreper I (senior diplomats), approved the Council of the EU's draft recommendation on smoke-free and aerosol-free environments.
The text received the support of all member states except Germany and the Czech Republic, who placed a scrutiny reservation, meaning that they will give their national parliaments the chance to scrutinise the legislation.
"Many member states also requested an update to the impact assessment," a diplomatic source told Euractiv.
The text will be submitted for approval at the next Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) (Health) on 3 December.
Additionally, this Coreper meeting also provided an opportunity for the ambassadors to endorse conclusions on improving cardiovascular health within the EU. [TM] Back to the top |
| | | | | Denmark and Spain’s top clinical trial performance inspires Sweden and Belgium |
| Denmark/Spain/Belgium/Sweden - Denmark’s and Spain’s strong performance in clinical drug trials is inspiring other EU members to adopt similar models. Denmark is now advancing to develop more flexible, decentralised trials for patients.
Denmark’s and Spain’s strong performance in clinical drug trials is inspiring other EU members to adopt similar models. Denmark currently has the highest number of clinical trials per capita and is advancing a flexible and decentralised approach; while Spain’s advantages, such as a high-quality healthcare system, have made the country attractive to investors.
Both EU members have a proactive approach, adopting supportive policies early on, initiating strong collaboration between commercial and non-commercial stakeholders, and establishing centres and networks.
This model is also inspiring Belgium, especially the strong performance of Spain, the Belgian Association pharma.be told Euractiv.
Despite a significant reduction in immunisation research in Belgium, the country remains at the top per capita in Europe, after Denmark.
“In Denmark, the most important success factor has been a long-standing shared political awareness of the value of having strong clinical research,“ Jakob Bjerg Larsen, Head of Clinical Trials and Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Policy at the Danish Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry, LIF, told Euractiv.
Denmark’s Trial Nation partnership, now six years old, is working to provide stakeholders with a framework for performing quality decentralised clinical study (DCT) designs to promote the use of DCTs, said Michelle Rosgaard Birknow, Head of Decentralised Clinical Trials Development at the Trial Nation. Read the full article here. Back to the top |
| | Luxembourg has thrown away more than 250,000 Covid vaccines |
| Luxembourg - Around 258,488 COVID vaccines in Luxembourg ended up being thrown away since January, Luxembourgish Health Minister Martine Deprez (CSV) revealed during a parliamentary questioning by the Pirate Party’s MP Sven Clement about vaccine stockpiling.
This included 600 doses from Novavax and 257,888 doses from BioNTech-Pfizer. The costs of the destroyed doses, which were expired, came to around €5.1 million euros while disposing of them cost only €1,401 euros.
Many of the vaccine doses ordered by wealthy countries, including the Grand Duchy, exceed need — an analysis by Politico last year revealed that the EU discarded between 215 million and 312 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines, or the equivalent of €4 billion euros. [EP] Back to the top |
| | UK’s Chief Medical Officer makes the case for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill |
| UK - Writing in The Times, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty made the case for the government’s Tobacco and Vapes Bill.
“Despite efforts by the tobacco industry to undermine the evidence on this, it is overwhelming,” said Whitty. “The risk of getting or accelerating diseases such as cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are significantly increased by second-hand (passive) smoke, including in non-smokers who now make up over 88% of the UK adult population.”
Whitty acknowledges that the health harms are lower than for an active smoker, but says that they are still substantial, even in outdoor spaces.
The bill also addresses the tricks used to make vapes attractive to children, “It is utterly unacceptable to market vapes to children.”
UK Health Minister, Wes Streeting said the government was expanding the smoking ban, “to some outdoor places, including schools, hospitals, children's playgrounds.”
On vaping, he said that the government was clamping down on the “scourge” of youth vaping, “because we've seen a generation of children and young people become addicted to nicotine”.
Measures include new licensing and enforcement, new restrictions on marketing, packaging and flavours. Find the bill here. Back to the top |
| | | | | | | | Working Party on Public Health |
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| | Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices |
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| | #EUHPP Live Webinar: Towards an EU Coordination Plan for the Brain |
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| | Negotiations (INB), Pandemic Agreement, Geneva |
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| | WHO's COP29 special report on climate change and health |
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| | | | Informal European Council of heads of government, Budapest |
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| | INB, Pandemic Agreement, Geneva |
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| | | | | | | Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices |
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| | Commissioner-designate hearings 14:30 - 17:30 Stéphane Séjourné, Executive Vice-President-designate of the European Commission for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy |
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| | | | Working Party on Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices |
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| | Request for Council authorisation for Commission’s endorsement, on behalf of the Union, of the “Jeddah commitments” from the 4th global high-level ministerial conference on antimicrobial resistance |
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| | | | | | Today’s brief was brought to you by Euractiv’s Health team |
| | | | | Today’s briefing was prepared by the Health team: Catherine Feore, Clara Bauer-Babef, Emma Pirnay, Thomas Mangin, and Lydia Williams. Additional reporting by Sofia Sanchez Manzanaro, Nikolaur Kurmayer, Monica Kleja and Nicole Verbeeck. Share your feedback or information with us at digital@euractiv.com. |
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