Briefing - EU toolbox against health threats at home and beyond - 25-06-2026
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Global health threats are becoming more frequent and severe. As the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted, they can quickly turn into emergencies, heavily impact human health, and paralyse economic, cultural and societal activities globally. Therefore, health securitBriefing - EU toolbox against health threats at home and beyond - 25-06-2026
Global health threats are becoming more frequent and severe. As the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted, they can quickly turn into emergencies, heavily impact human health, and paralyse economic, cultural and societal activities globally. Therefore, health security is a global challenge.In this context, and in the light of lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU has substantially strengthened its toolbox to prevent, prepare for and respond to health threats. Its toolbox consists of legislative measures – in particular, the Regulation on the prevention, preparedness and response to serious cross-border health threats, the EU Health Emergency Regulation, reinforced roles for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the setting up of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). Other tools in the EU health security toolbox include the Union Civil Protection Mechanism; humanitarian assistance in emergencies; research and development in the area of health security; capacity building in the partner countries under the Global Gateway; participation in the Global Health Security Initiative; and co-crafting of international instruments on health security. Moreover, EU action on health security is guided by a number of policy documents. The most recent European Commission communication on reinforcing global health resilience amidst geopolitical change, adopted in May 2026, sets out priority areas through which the EU should contribute to scaling up global prevention, preparedness and response to health threats and to addressing resilience gaps in health systems. Despite significant improvements in health security at the national, regional, EU and global levels, several challenges remain, including limited financing for public and global health and their health security component; the ongoing fragmentation of the global health architecture; and health-related misinformation and disinformation. The European Parliament is a strong supporter of both the internal and external dimensions of EU health policy. It treats the health security component as a key area for strengthening EU action. Through its resolutions, Parliament has expressed its views on the current and future EU action on health security. Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP Read more














