Debate: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control - Serious cross-border threats to health
Date: MONDAY, 3 OCTOBER 2022
Speaker: Stella Kyriakides
Language: EN

In November 2020, we presented that ambition – a set of proposals to build a strong European health union and to make the European Union better prepared to prevent, to prepare for and to respond to cross-border health threats. In less than two years, we’re gathered here for the final steps in the adoption on serious cross-border threats to health and the regulation extending the mandate of the ECDC. Both serve as very important building blocks for our European health union. Both fit neatly together with the other important pieces of legislation for the new European health security framework. Thanks to our joint work, we will extend the European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention’s mandate. What will this actually mean? A stronger ECDC will be able to issue recommendations to Member States regarding health—threat preparedness. It will be able to host a new network of excellence of EU reference laboratories and to establish an EU health task force for rapid health interventions in the event of a major outbreak. As we have all witnessed, the ECDC has been essential in making sense of and in managing this pandemic. With a stronger focus, we will be better prepared for the future. The new regulation on cross-border threats paves the way for a stronger EU role in preventing, preparing and managing health threats. You have been instrumental in delivering on citizen expectations for more EU in the area of health, something that we also heard consistently in the Conference on the Future of Europe. Parliament has fought hard to have some key elements included in this package, and I need to extend my thanks especially to the rapporteurs, honourable Members Ms Kopcińska and Ms Trillet-Lenoir, and their whole teams for this. We have worked together tirelessly to get here today. You have each played your part in securing the provisions on joint procurement of medical countermeasures; you supported the inclusion of the one—health approach, and you made sure that prevention featured alongside response and preparedness activities. With your support, we made sure that Member States will have to report on stocks of critical medical countermeasures. They should take account of the Union preparedness plan when updating their national plans. The ECDC is empowered to access those national plans periodically, on top of periodic reporting to Member States. Meanwhile, the EU’s Health Security Committee will be reconvened at senior level and will be able to issue recommendations and opinions. With Parliament’s new observer status secured, I am pleased to say that this committee is even stronger. I must mention that the Commission does still have some institutional concerns on both texts and will be issuing statements on these accordingly. In ending, honourable Members, this debate gives me the opportunity to really thank you again for your support to bring this package today and to work towards its adoption. And as we move into the implementation phase, we’ll be taking further important steps together to turn this into a reality – because this can only mean better results for our citizens and this is what they rightfully expect from us. The Commission welcomes the overall agreement reached by the co-legislators on the proposal for a Regulation on serious cross-border threats to health. This new Regulation provides for a strong health security framework in the EU and will strengthen EU-level protection, prevention, preparedness and response against cross-border health challenges. The Commission regrets that the agreed text does not fully align the Regulation with the principle of one Commission and singles out one specific internal Commission service, whereas the Regulation will be implemented by the Commission (including other Commission departments) and other actors. Therefore, the agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the provisions that refer to a specific Commission internal service is without prejudice to any future legislative texts.  Moreover, the Commission also regrets that the co-legislators agreed to include a review clause, which includes an assessment of the need to establish the European Health Emergency preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) as a distinct entity from the Commission. Such an assessment goes beyond the scope of the Regulation and should remain within the Commission’s remit as HERA is a Commission service. Moreover, it duplicates the assessment that is to be carried out under the Council Regulation on a framework of measures for ensuring the supply of crisis-relevant medical countermeasures in the event of a public health emergency at Union level. The Commission welcomes the overall agreement reached by the co-legislators on the proposal for a Regulation on the extension of the mandate of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.  The new Regulation will reinforce the capacity of the Centre to support the EU and its Member States in the prevention and control of communicable disease threats and improve European preparedness for future health challenges. The Commission regrets that the agreed text does not fully align the Regulation with the principles of the Common Approach on the EU decentralised agencies, as regards the voting regime of the Management Board concerning the rules governing the languages of the Centre. Therefore the agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council on the language regime of the agency is without prejudice to any future legislative texts. The Commission remains convinced of the benefits of following all aspects of the Common Approach in relation to decentralised agencies.