PHSSR European Union Investing in Health 2025

12 Investing in Health for a Competitive, Secure, and Resilient Europe: A Strategic Call to Action The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resiliencehealth, particularly among the middle-aged and older populations, can mitigate projected declines in the workforce and support economic stability. By embedding health at the heart of Europe’s competitiveness strategy, the EU can build a more resilient, prosperous, and globally influential Union. Investments in health are needed to secure the EU as a global leader in life sciences, ensure equitable access to innovative medicines and technologies, and support a healthy and productive workforce and society. This approach is critical not just for securing Europe’s economic future, but for ensuring that Europe remains competitive and resilient in a rapidly changing world. C. THE EU’S ROLE IN HEALTH FINANCING While health systems are primarily the responsibility of individual Member States, European health systems share core values around universality, access to good-quality care, equity, and solidarity.33 Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU states the obligation to ensure a high level of human health protection through EU policies, complementary to national policies.34 The right to equitable access to healthcare is further underscored as a political commitment in the European Pillar of Social Rights. The EU therefore plays a role in complementing and supporting Member State activities within health and encouraging cooperation across the European Union. A wide range of EU resources, encompassing policy guidance, technical assistance, information sharing, and financial support, are available to support health systems.35 Notably, instruments such as the Cohesion Policy and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP) provide structured EU-level policy recommendations in health. In parallel, multiple financing mechanisms—both health-specific and cross-sectoral—are available to strengthen national health systems and support their transformation (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Overview of key EU funding mechanisms applicable to health systems and examples of key supporting policies that guide funding Source: CRA analysis