17 Investing in Health for a Competitive, Secure, and Resilient Europe: A Strategic Call to Action The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience2.A PILLAR A: OBJECTIVE SETTING AND PRIORITISATION OF FUNDING FOR HEALTH 2.A.1 Adopt an aligned EU investment strategy for health to facilitate a cohesive and strategic funding approach that supports the objectives of the European Health Union Ensuring strategic and efficient allocation of the EU budget and the positive impact of its investments in health is critical in today’s context of increasing socioeconomic pressures, rising geopolitical tensions, and global competitiveness challenges.46 In parallel, substantial innovation driven by a wave of new technologies offers the potential to enhance patient care and improve health system resilience and outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic was a pivotal global challenge from which the European Union drew important lessons—most notably, the critical value of coordinated action among Member States in the health sector. This experience also catalysed the development of the EHU in 2020, marking a significant step towards more integrated and resilient EU-level health governance.47 The EHU emphasises that joint action in health at the European level is crucial to Europe’s collective wellbeing, strategic autonomy, and geopolitical stability.48 In the face of unprecedented global political and economic challenges, the case for collective action is increasingly compelling. EU funding programmes available for investments into health systems are fragmented, with responsibilities distributed across multiple European Commission Directorate-Generals. This institutional dispersion contributes to limited cohesion, inconsistencies in implementation methodologies, and a lack of coordination towards common end goals.49 Even within the health domain, thematic overlaps pose challenges in ensuring synergies and complementarities across financing mechanisms, preventing the maximisation of efficiency in available resources. For instance, support for strengthening the resilience of national health systems is channelled through various programmes including the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, EU4Health, and the Digital Europe programme.50 While this multiplicity of funding streams has the potential to expand the overall pool of resources available for health systems, it also generates inefficiencies and redundancies. In reflecting on the limitations of the current EU budgetary framework, the European Commission has underscored the need for the next MFF to be guided more explicitly by policy priorities than by institutional structures. Enhancing synergies between policy objectives and financing instruments will be essential to maximise impact and ensure strategic coherence across EU health investments.51 Currently, EU priorities in health are defined collectively across multiple mechanisms, including the European Pillar of Social Rights, the EHU, and the EBCP . The key priorities across these mechanisms include ensuring equitable access to healthcare, strengthening health security, preventing NCDs, implementing digital transformation of health systems, and tackling health workforce challenges (see ‘Case study: Addressing the health workforce crisis’). While the EHU has set the foundations for what the EU can achieve in health, a more defined and detailed strategy on health investments is needed to ensure effective use of the EU budget to support the EU’s strategic health priorities. The priority areas for coordinated action should be integrated within a broader EU strategy that can guide more cohesive and efficient investments to deliver the EU objectives in health.

PHSSR European Union Investing in Health 2025