Despite the EPP’s desire to create a specific health committee in the new European Parliament, this proposal is facing resistance from other political groups and stakeholders.
As new EU institutional planning is being prepared, Parliament’s largest political group has proposed creating a dedicated health committee, separate from the existing entity – ENVI – which deals with the environment, public health and food safety.
The European People’s Party wants the new commission to focus on health issues, which it says go unnoticed within a wider committee, but the idea is criticised by others who fear that separating the topics could jeopardise the cross-sectoral nature of public health.
During the last term, discussions on health generally took place within the ENVI committee, with subcommittees created for specific topics.
Such subcommittees have been created to deal with cancer and lessons learned from the pandemic, for example.
The closest thing to a stand-alone health committee has been a dedicated health subcommittee of ENVI.
Outgoing MEP Tomislav Sokol (Croatia/EPP) was a strong advocate of the new committee, saying that “the integration of environment and health within the ENVI committee seems misaligned, given the distinct and critical nature of each area.”
“This committee would help to respond more effectively to the complexities of public health and improve the well-being of all European citizens,” Sokol told Euronews.
While the structure of the committees is still being negotiated between the different political groups, German MEP Peter Liese, EPP coordinator for the environment committee, seems certain that the split will take place.
“It’s not 100% fixed […] “But there seems to be a growing consensus among the leaders of the different groups,” Liese told reporters.
Other political groups and actors, however, resist this idea.
“I think there are many reasons to have one. [health committee]but probably more, and more importantly not to have any,” MEP Nils Torvalds, ENVI coordinator at Renew Europe, told Euronews.
He said the new health committee would lead to an increase in the number of reports and would detach the link between health issues and those related to the environment, social, economic and budgetary.
“One Health” approach must be maintained
This concern is shared by other political groups, who see the so-called “One Health” approach – the principle that human, animal and environmental health are inextricably linked – threatened by this split.
MEP Tilly Metz (Luxembourg/Greens) told Euronews that leaving health issues to a dedicated committee risked fostering a “silo mentality”.
“We must avoid thinking in silos, because health encompasses much more than health care and medicines. Public health includes climate and environmental concerns, healthy diets, prevention, social policies, research and security, all of which are crucial,” she added.
The Socialist group said it has always been a strong supporter of the One Health principle, which is best served by the ENVI Committee, whose Health Subcommittee remains in place.
In recent years, the World Health Organization, the European Commission and various health agencies have strongly advocated this approach and the integration of health in all policies to prepare for threats such as climate change and zoonotic diseases.
Anne Stauffer, deputy director of the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), said in a press release that separating the committees “would be a disservice to citizens as they increasingly experience the health impacts of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.”
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“I see big problems with the creation of a standing health committee if, for example, it undermines the ability to address health and safety at work alongside other workers’ rights,” Per Clausen, a newly elected MEP from The Left, told Euronews.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) sent an email to MEPs on 1 July asking them to defend the prerogatives of the Parliament’s Employment Committee and ensure that health and safety at work remains within its remit.
The letter warned that separating these issues could undermine employers’ obligations and could “dilute employers’ responsibility to prevent workplace risks, thereby weakening the strong framework that currently holds employers accountable.”
The union added that it is important to remember that health competences in the EU are still national and administered by member states, which could make the application of health and safety legislation at work difficult.
