COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS Mid-term evaluation of the 3rd Health programme 2014-2020 under Regulation (EU) No 282/2014 on the establishment of a third programme of Union action in the field of health (2014-2020)
Date: 2017-10-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
Subjects: EU financial instrument, EU programme, cross-border cooperation, disease prevention, health care, health care system, programme budgeting, project evaluation, public awareness campaign, public health

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 11.10.2017  SWD(2017) 333 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS  Mid-term evaluation of the 3rd Health programme 2014-2020 under Regulation (EU) No 282/2014 on the establishment of a third programme of Union action in the field of health (2014-2020) {COM(2017) 586 final} {SWD(2017) 331 final}  
 
 
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

This staff working document accompanies the Commission’s report on the mid-term evaluation of the 
third  health  programme  2014-2020.  It  presents  the  main  findings  based  on  an  independent  external 
study  conducted  from  May  2016  to  May  2017.  The  conclusions  of  the  evaluation  will  be  used  to 
improve the implementation of the Health Programme in 2018-2020 and could also serve to inform the 
programming period after 2020. 

The third Health Programme ('the Programme') is a financial instrument for policy coordination at EU 
level. The aim is to complement, support and add value to the policies of Member States, in improving 
the health of Europeans and reducing health inequalities. It has four specific objectives: 

1) promote health and healthy living and prevent diseases;  
2) protect Europeans from serious cross-border health threats;  
3) contribute to innovative, efficient and sustainable health systems; and  
4) facilitate access to better and safer healthcare for Europeans. 

The mid-term evaluation covers the first three years of the programme implementation (2014-2016). 
The  evaluation  was  carried  out  too  early  to  quantitatively  assess  whether  the  programme  objectives 
were achieved as most of the actions ran over three years. Final results for actions that began in 2015 
will  not  be  available  before  the  end  of  2018.  That  said,  the  evaluation  indicates  that  major 
achievements have been or are being made such as:  

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establishing 24 European Reference Networks;  
supporting  Member  States  to  increase  their  capacity-building  to  respond  to  outbreaks  (e.g. 
Ebola and Zika viruses);  
contributing  to  the  EU's  migration  policy  by  supporting  Member  States  to  respond  to  the 
health needs of high influx of migrants and refugees; and  
training health professionals and other front-line staff. 

Other achievements of the health programme include exchanges of good practice in areas as diverse as 
alcohol reduction, cancer screening, HIV/AIDS and TB prevention, additional support for EU health 
legislation  on  medicinal  products  and  medical  devices,  the  eHealth  Network  activities  and  Health 
Technology Assessment.   

Progress is also being made on important joint work with the OECD and the European Observatory on 
Health Systems and Policies. This collaboration brings together internationally renowned expertise in 
the State of Health in the EU cycle to strengthen country-specific and EU-wide knowledge on health 
issues. Major achievements of this collaboration are the publication of the ‘Health at a glance: Europe 
2016’  report  in  November  2016,  as  well  as  EU-28  country  profiles  and  a  companion  report  by 
November 2017. 

The evaluation concluded that all 23 thematic priorities still remain valid, and the funded actions have 
produced  or  are  producing  important  outcomes  with  high  EU-added  value,  serving  the  programme 
objectives and contributing to major Commission priorities and international initiatives. 

Simplification measures that have been taken by introducing electronic tools to submit proposals and 
manage  grants,  by  simplifying  evaluations  and  by  simplifying  financial  rules  and  administrative 
procedures show efficiency gains.  

 
 
 
The  new  programme  design  takes  a  more  strategic  view  of  a  mid-term  perspective  and  has 
demonstrated its value as an effective and flexible management tool capable of covering unforeseeable 
needs (refugees’ crisis). Progress indicators have been introduced but there is still a need for continued 
efforts to improve the monitoring, reporting and dissemination of results. 

The  exceptional  utility  criteria  for  attracting  participation  from  low  gross  national  income  (GNI) 
countries have not been sufficiently effective so far. However, despite the difficult economic context 
and the significant barrier of assuring the remaining co-financing, the Programme is still attracting a 
similar level of participation from low GNI countries as in the previous programme. 

For the remaining programming period, the Programme should remain focused, strengthen efforts to 
achieve  EU-added  value  and  increase  synergies  and  ensure  the  upscale  significant  results  through 
cooperation with other EU financial instruments.