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All Policies for a Healthy Europe

Healthy Europe

All Policies for a Healthy Europe is an intersectoral initiative that brings together a diverse and intersectoral group of NGOs, think tanks, associations, companies, and individuals.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Oliver Schenk (Member of the European Parliament) and European University Hospital Alliance

18 Dec 2024 · European Health Policy

Meeting with Aurelijus Veryga (Member of the European Parliament)

27 Nov 2024 · Improving the quality of life for EU citizens and strengthening the EU’s economic resilience

Meeting with Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis (Member of the European Parliament) and Flint Europe

26 Nov 2024 · EU health policy

Meeting with Tomislav Sokol (Member of the European Parliament)

26 Nov 2024 · Health policy

Meeting with Kristian Vigenin (Member of the European Parliament)

26 Nov 2024 · Future of EU health policies

Meeting with Ingeborg Ter Laak (Member of the European Parliament)

21 Nov 2024 · Public health

Meeting with Vytenis Povilas Andriukaitis (Member of the European Parliament)

2 Oct 2024 · EU health policy

Meeting with Cristian-Silviu Buşoi (Member of the European Parliament)

14 Jun 2023 · European Well-being Deal health project

Meeting with István Ujhelyi (Member of the European Parliament)

13 Jun 2023 · European Health Union

Meeting with Monika Beňová (Member of the European Parliament)

13 Jun 2023 · General discussion on one health approach and EU helath policy

Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

22 Mar 2023 · Zero pollution

Meeting with Sara Cerdas (Member of the European Parliament) and Vodafone Belgium SA and Johnson Johnson

20 Jan 2023 · Air Quality Directive

Meeting with Margaritis Schinas (Vice-President) and

21 Jun 2022 · Health Union

Meeting with Santina Bertulessi (Cabinet of Commissioner Nicolas Schmit)

21 May 2021 · Introduce the Coalition and its economic policy paper: Achieving an Economy of Well-being in Europe – Going beyond GDP in the post-COVID era

Response to A European Health Data Space

3 Feb 2021

Health data is a key enabler for the digital transformation of healthcare. The rapidly expanding corpus of health data holds clear potential to improve citizens’ health as well as care systems. However, leveraging health data is faced with the double challenge of balancing citizens’ need for privacy and security with regulatory frameworks that promote research, innovation and patient empowerment through the use of personal health data. Additional technical challenges relate to data quality and the interoperability of health data systems, not only at cross-border level but also at national and local level. Most patient data are now siloed in disparate systems such as hospitals, clinics and laboratories, which are often not interoperable and do not meet the same quality standards. The COVID-19 crisis has clearly shown the current lack of unity, coordination, scale and interoperability among European health systems. It has also shed light on the benefits that better sharing and use of health data can bring to healthcare in the EU. Due in part to the pandemic, citizens are now becoming more aware than ever before of the benefits of health data sharing. The time is right to create a trustworthy European Health Data Space (EHDS), with citizens’ needs placed at its centre. To foster trust in, and use of, digital health tools, education efforts should enhance healthcare professionals and citizens’ awareness of the benefits digital health can bring, including the implications of data sharing and AI. We call on the European Commission to: - Rapidly create a EHDS to facilitate health data exchanges and strengthen cooperation across Member States, in line with F.A.I.R principles and through federated data models. The EHDS should effectively enable value-based approaches to health as well as to help promote a research environment fit for innovation. We therefore support the launch of the ‘Joint Action for the EHDS’ set up to help Members States and the Commission facilitate the sharing of health data for public health, treatment, research and innovation in Europe. Similarly, we call for further deployment of the eHealth Digital Service Infrastructure (eHDSI). - Facilitate greater trust that increased health data sharing remains in full compliance with the GDPR by encouraging Member States to better align through an EU Code of Conduct on the primary and secondary use of health data, in order to stimulate research and enable data driven healthcare for citizen benefits while protecting their privacy. Consistent GDPR interpretation across Member States is needed to provide clarity and certainty for every stakeholder in the European health data ecosystem. - Promote interoperability of health data systems through the further development of common interoperability standards, building on the 2019 Recommendation On Electronic Health Record Exchange Format with recommended technical specifications based on open, international standards. The use of transparent global standards would also further promote citizens’ trust in the safety, security and appropriate use of health data. - Advance the development of digital infrastructures and facilities for citizens to access, manage and share their health data, such as Electronic Health Record systems, while ensuring the portability of their health data within and across borders. Patients and citizens require better access to their own health data and the option to share them with healthcare professionals. Equal access to broadband across Europe is therefore needed to ensure the availability of such services to all citizens. - Allow EU citizens, patients, carers and healthcare professionals to contribute to the policy agenda towards a more interoperable and empowering digital health ecosystem, through targeted surveys and representations opportunities such as an Observatory on digital health, allowing citizens and experts to provide real-time feedback on the EU digital health policies.
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Response to EU Action Plan Towards a Zero Pollution Ambition for air, water and soil

27 Oct 2020

All Policies for a Healthy Europe is a multi-stakeholder initiative geared towards putting citizens’ health & well-being at the centre of all areas of EU policy-making. The coalition brings together a diverse group of NGOs, think-tanks, associations, companies, and individuals to support the European Commission’s vision for a healthy, climate-neutral and socially inclusive Europe. In 2020, through its Environment work stream, the initiative is aiming to provide recommendations for bridging the gap between the environmental pollution and human health & well-being, particularly through its policy paper: ‘Zero Pollution Ambition: prioritising citizens’ health & well-being’ (please find it attached). We welcome the Commission’s initiative to strive for a toxic-free environment. We strongly support the statement that ‘to secure clean air, water and soil, healthy ecosystems and a healthy living environment for Europeans, the EU needs to [...] strengthen the inter-linkages between environmental protection, sustainable development and people’s well-being’. This issue has become more relevant than ever amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. As outlined by the European Environmental Agency (EEA) in its recent report ‘Healthy environment, healthy lives: how the environment influences health and well-being in Europe’, to better manage health risks and anticipate health crises, European policies need to connect the dots between the functioning of ecosystems, climate action and citizens’ health & well-being. 78% of Europeans agree that environmental issues have a direct effect on their daily life and on their health. Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic has reinforced the need to build a healthier planet for healthy people. The European Commission should focus on promoting social resilience from interconnected threats in the COVID-19 recovery with the Zero-Pollution Action Plan enabling a toxic-free environment in order to support both the economic recovery and the improvement of citizens’ well-being. There is currently no overarching framework at EU level that can address complex interlinkages across policy domains relevant to environment and health. With the Zero-Pollution Action Plan, the Commission should address all human health-related environmental threats to, among others, lower the prevalence of environmental pollution-induced non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and reduce the number of premature deaths. Large-scale environmental challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss and water and air pollution, have wide-ranging, long-term, and irreversible impacts on human health. Pollution is associated with the development of chronic NCDs, including heart disease, stroke, and cancer. 90% of deaths resulting from NCDs are attributable to the environmental pollution. The Zero-Pollution Action Plan is an opportunity to devise a strategic framework to prevent and reduce the prevalence of NCDs by fostering a health-enabling environment. Food production accounts for about one-fourth of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and agricultural production accounts for 70% of global freshwater withdrawals. The Zero-Pollution Action Plan is an opportunity to complement the ‘Farm to Fork’ Strategy by fostering innovative, systemic zero-pollution solutions to protect food systems from pollution and hazardous chemicals and to ensure citizens have access to toxic-free options. Therefore, we believe the time is right for the EU to focus on the adverse effects of environmental pollution, unsustainable food production systems and biodiversity loss on human health & well-being. We call on the Commission to ensure that the Zero-Pollution Action Plan addresses the health determinants of environmental policies and lays the foundation for the health-proofing of policies in the wider context of the ‘health in all policies’ approach.
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Meeting with Tove Ernst (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides)

15 Sept 2020 · Videoconference, about Health policies in EU

Meeting with Maria Luisa Llano Cardenal (Cabinet of Vice-President Margaritis Schinas)

15 Sept 2020 · Health policies in EU

Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

24 Jun 2020 · Sustainable food systems