Supporting public health in Europe
The EU complements national health policies by supporting local EU governments to achieve common objectives, pool resources and overcome shared challenges. In addition to formulating EU-wide laws and standards for health products and services, it also provides funding for health projects across the EU.
EU health policy focuses on protecting and improving health, giving equal access to modern and efficient healthcare for all Europeans, and coordinating any serious health threats involving more than one EU country. Disease prevention and response play a big part in the EU’s public health focus. Prevention touches many areas such as vaccination, fighting antimicrobial resistance, actions against cancer and responsible food labelling.
Two dedicated agencies support national governments on health issues. The European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control assesses and monitors emerging disease threats to coordinate responses. Meanwhile, the European Medicines Agency manages the scientific assessment of all EU medicines’ quality, safety and efficiency.
