Expansion of Strategic Cooperation between European Commission and World Health Organization for Better Health for All

Following the EU-WHO strategic dialogue on health between Commissioner Kyriakides and WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Commission and the World Health Organization agreed to strengthen their strategic cooperation in the field of global health architecture and health security. They will also collaborate on implementing important initiatives, such as the new EU Global Health Strategy presented this week, the European Health Union, and WHO priorities for 2022-2026.
The aim is to mutually reinforce the work of both parties in all areas of common interest, as defined in the EU Global Health Strategy. This promotes a strong multilateral system centered on WHO, fueled by a strong European Union.
Over the next two years, many important elements of global health security will be discussed. These include negotiations regarding a pandemic agreement and the amendment of the International Health Regulations, planning a permanent pandemic platform, ensuring top leadership engagement with global health issues, and funding for global health. The Commission and WHO will work closely throughout these discussions to shape an effective multilateral system that takes into account the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and provides comprehensive health security for citizens worldwide.
The two parties agreed to work closely on implementing the upcoming EU regulation on serious cross-border health threats, which will significantly strengthen health security in the Union and will be linked to WHO initiatives in our continent. The expanded mandates of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Medicines Agency provide further opportunities for collaboration with WHO.
The Commission and WHO will join forces in the field of digital health and, in this context, will develop a broader roadmap for digital cooperation in early 2023.
The new EU Global Health Strategy provides a framework for EU health policies until 2030. It sets policy priorities and guiding principles for shaping global health and identifies specific lines of action. It outlines the actions the Commission will take and the requests it will make to Member States regarding their own actions, strictly within the context of their respective competencies and institutional roles. The strategy is based on contributions received during a broad public consultation, mainly from EU Member States, Council presidencies, the European Parliament, civil society, including the 2020 civil society shadow health strategy, and other key stakeholders in Europe and beyond.