Devising a European flagship initiative for health - Related Opinions

This exploratory opinion, requested by the Danish Presidency, outlines how AI and Big Data can improve rare disease patient pathways and support the development of personalised treatments. It highlights the main challenges linked to their use, such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, affordability, and geographical accessibility. In the text, the EESC puts forward recommendations to ensure that these technologies are applied in an ethical, inclusive, and patient-centred way.

Prepared at the request of the Danish Presidency, this opinion recommends that the EU and the Member States ensure that occupational safety and health (OSH) protection and prevention of OSH risks are ensured for all people at work, regardless of their employment contract, job title, or training path. According to the EESC, this protection should include a minimum and comprehensive standard of physical, mental, and social well-being in the workplace.

The EESC recommends strengthening cooperation and shared responsibility among all stakeholders, particularly the social partners, to ensure effective OSH management. Active involvement of workers’ representatives and the promotion of social dialogue at company level are essential.

The EESC stresses the importance of stepping up compliance and enforcement of existing OSH rules as a key step towards achieving the Zero Deaths goal.

In this own-initiative opinion, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is  addressing the growing disparities in healthcare access across the EU. These inequalities, exacerbated by inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, disproportionately affect vulnerable groups such as low-income households, people with disabilities, children, and older people. The opinion calls for urgent action to ensure equitable access to healthcare and long-term care, in line with the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), and proposes concrete policy recommendations to strengthen healthcare systems and reduce barriers to care.

In this opinion, the EESC is calling on the Commission to launch  a comprehensive European Action Plan on Rare Diseases (APRD) with SMART targets that can be achieved by 2030 to enable the diagnosis of rare disease patients within one year. Such plan should be accompanied by the allocation of  appropriate budgetary resources and identify  common and measurable goals to help define and implement national plans and strategies for RD, encourage Member States and continue cooperation at EU level.

The EESC proposes to launch a European Care Guarantee, which would ensure life-long access to affordable quality healthcare and care services for everyone living in the EU. It also underlines the importance of supporting families in their fundamental role as caregivers and asks for adopting specific measures to tackle Gender equality, namely addressing gender stereotypes, attracting more men in the sector and ensure better distribution of care within households.

In addition, the Committee highlights the need for a life cycle approach promoting healthy and active ageing and calls for the development of a European Strategy for Older Persons.

Rare diseases are often chronic and sometimes disabling diseases affecting an estimated 25/30 million European citizens. Even more people are affected as care taker or family. Patients and relatives face difficulties in access to diagnosis, treatment or care and in their inclusion to society and labour market. In this opinion, the EESC presents its  recommendations on how to improve social protection for these patients and raise awareness on their situation and needs.

This opinion presents the EESC's contribution to the current discussion on the future of care and health across Europe and to the European Care Strategy. The Committee recommends setting common minimum standards to ensure that every one living in the EU has access to affordable, accessible and high-quality care, that there is proper investment in the care services and in health, that the health sector, care providers and health workers are properly recognised and valued, including through investment in skills, decent working conditions,  and the creation of quality jobs.

In this opinion, the EESC presents its view on the Commission's proposal establishing the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority. (HERA), whose mission is to prevent, detect, and rapidly respond to transnational health emergencies. The EESC welcomes this initiative but is concerned by the very limited role given by HERA to the European Parliament, regional authorities, health insurance bodies and civil society organisations and recommends their stronger involvement by adapting HERA structure and ensuring greater transparency with regard to the funds allocated and spent by and through HERA.

The opinion, presenting EESC's position on the four proposals of the Health package published by the European  Commission in November 2020, supports and welcomes these initiatives but draws the attention on some elements.

• The EU and Member States should ensure that everyone has equal access to quality, well staffed, well equipped health and social services. This is particularly important in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic which has deepened existing inequalities.
• Special attention in future EU policies should be given to healthcare workers and the need to improve working conditions, including pay, recruitment and retention, as well as their health and safety.
• The new EU health package should be combined with the roll-out of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR), particularly its principles 12, 16, 17 and 18 and the Action Plan on the EPSR. It should also be part of achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.