Debate: EU Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority: ensuring a coordinated EU approach for future health crises and the role of the European Parliament in this
Date: TUESDAY, 5 OCTOBER 2021
Speaker: Stella Kyriakides
Language: EN

I want to begin today by underlining two points which make HERA stand apart. First and foremost, its urgency. HERA is needed now, to close the gaps in our preparedness, our anticipation and our responses to health crises. For this health crisis, but also for future ones. Secondly, the fact that HERA will only succeed if it drives a consensus on health preparedness at all levels across the EU, and it is absolutely clear that the European Parliament must be part of this.  Our close cooperation throughout the COVID-19 emergency and on the European Health Union proposals has been pivotal and central to our successful response to the worst public health crisis in memory. Last Monday, I appeared before the ENVI Committee to explain that HERA is not a typical Commission structure. It is our shared resource between European institutions and Member States. It is the place where the necessary coordination between national actions and EU actions will be brought together. It is a place for fast, operational decisions, for foresight, anticipation and the coordination of preparedness and response, and to achieve this, we need an innovative set-up. Our traditional tools would not be able to meet the expectations of European citizens. Parliament will be integrally involved in both preparedness and crisis times, through its participation in both the HERA Board and the Health Crisis Board. It is unprecedented that the European Parliament is directly involved with an internal Commission structure. The European Parliament representatives will have full access to all the information exchanged, and will help to shape the preparation and the implementation of HERA actions. HERA’s budget of course will be subject to the scrutiny of the European Parliament as the budgetary authority. But we need to make sure that the voice of the Parliament is heard early in this process as well, and with all this in mind, I can only repeat that saying that the Parliament has been excluded, is difficult to understand if one takes all the above into account. I have heard the voices of those saying that the Health Union proposals should be held back, should be delayed and amended to achieve a different governance structure for HERA. Honourable Members, our citizens have seen throughout this crisis the very responsible and citizen-focused stance taken and this is what they expect now. I have listened to you carefully and I continue to listen carefully and I believe we all agree on HERA’s objectives and ambition. I believe we all agree that this pandemic is still with us and we have no time to lose. The Health Union proposals must move forward quickly and as soon as possible. Holding them back or holding HERA back, will have a significant impact on what all of us have been trying to build together. In fact we are all accountable to European citizens who expect a stronger Europe in the area of health and a stronger Europe in dealing with health crises. I am proud to say that HERA started its work last Friday officially and will be fully up and running early next year. A small team is already in place and the first meeting of the HERA Board took place last Friday. I very much look forward to the appointment of the European Parliament’s representative on the Board. I wish to take the opportunity to clarify one critical element here. Our proposal for a Regulation on a framework of measures to be triggered by a health crisis is separate from the set-up and governance of HERA. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we have had to invent new instruments and to set up ad hoc solutions. We have tried to identify what could have made our response to COVID-19 more efficient. It is key to think about this in advance – every minute counts in a situation like the pandemic. With our crisis mode proposal, our goal is to make mobilisation of extra tools and resources easier and more automatic. The legal base for a Council regulation was chosen after careful legal assessment and there was no other viable option to mobilise emergency funding. I fully understand that Parliament sees the need to review what has been proposed and this is why we include a review clause, both for HERA and for the draft Council regulation, but to be able to review something, we need first to give it the chance and see it operate. I am fully committed to involving Parliament closely in this review process and its outcomes. Honourable Members, HERA is our common response to a crisis and the crisis has shown what we need to do better for our citizens, and the Health Union proposals are the foundation for HERA. Delaying them will only impact on our efforts to work more closely together and to exit this pandemic. Setting up HERA as soon as possible stems from one conviction, and a conviction I believe you share with us: namely, that we must waste no time in responding to the ongoing threats of COVID-19 and other emerging public health threats. We simply must make this investment in our citizens’ health without delay and I count on your support for that.