European Regional and Local Health Authorities
EUREGHA
EUREGHA is a Brussels-based network of 24 regional and local health authorities and organisations working on regional and local issues, covering more than 13 European countries.
ID: 117410219881-21
Lobbying Activity
Response to EU’s next long-term budget (MFF) – implementing EU funding with Member States and regions
28 Oct 2025
EUREGHA welcomes the opportunity to contribute to shaping a more territorial, health-sensitive, and implementation-focused EU budget. Regional and local health authorities (LRAs) are indispensable partners in turning EU priorities into tangible action. They plan, deliver, and evaluate most health and care services across Europe, ensuring that EU policies reach citizens. Yet their role in the design and implementation of funding instruments remains underused. EUREGHA members express concern about a number of trends: - the dilution of funding for implementing EU health policies and exchanging practices a key strength of EU4Health; - the reduced regional and local control over Cohesion Policy, weakening place-based governance; and - the risk of centralisation and fragmentation, distancing EU action from citizens. To address these challenges, the post-2027 MFF should: > Make health a cross-cutting and strategic priority. Health is not only a sectoral policy but a foundation of Europes competitiveness, resilience, and cohesion. It must remain visible across all major EU instruments including Cohesion Policy, Horizon Europe, Erasmus+, Digital Europe, and beyond and these should also place stronger emphasis on the implementation of health innovations, ensuring that research, skills, and digital investments translate into tangible improvements in health systems. > Preserve dedicated health implementation funding. While promoting a strong health in all policies approach, the next MFF must retain dedicated health-specific investment. EU4Health and related instruments such as Joint Actions should remain standalone, implementation-focused mechanisms driving system reform, service innovation, and exchange of best practices. Their direct focus enables rapid responses to shared challenges and ensures that EU support delivers real improvements for citizens well-being. Integrating them into overly broad frameworks, including the future European Competitiveness Fund (ECF), would weaken Europes capacity to deliver need-driven results and implement key initiatives such as the European Health Data Space, the EU Cancer and Cardiovascular Plans, and the European Approach to Mental Health. > Protect and reinforce Cohesion Policy as a mechanism for health and territorial equity. Cohesion Policy and Interreg are vital to invest in regional health systems, innovation, and cross-border cooperation. Their governance must reflect shared responsibility between the EU, Member States, and regions. Cohesion funding should remain clearly ring-fenced, accessible to all regions, and sufficiently resourced to match its long-term investment nature. > Ensure genuine multilevel governance. Regional and local authorities must not be seen merely as implementers but as co-designers of EU programmes and funding priorities. Their participation is essential for ownership, impact, and continuity. > Simplify and align access. Calls and rules should be clearer and more consistent, with harmonised procedures and advance payments to enable participation by smaller or less-resourced actors. > Build long-term territorial capacity. The next MFF should invest in skills, workforce development, and knowledge transfer. Technical assistance, peer learning, and networks such as EUREGHA are proven tools to bridge policy and implementation. > Foster coherence and coordination. Stronger cooperation between DG SANTE, DG REGIO, DG RTD, DG EMPL, and executive agencies will ensure continuity from research to reform to implementation. > Value continuity alongside innovation. Many successful cross-border and interregional initiatives need stable, long-term EU support to consolidate and scale their impact. Our full feedback, further details and references are provided in the attached file accompanying this submission.
Read full responseMeeting with Olivér Várhelyi (Commissioner) and
2 Oct 2025 · All pressing portfolio topics
Response to A Culture Compass for Europe
29 May 2025
Regional and local health authorities are increasingly confronted with rising mental health needs in their populations, alongside growing recognition of the importance of prevention, social connection, and community-based care. In this context, we call on the European Commission to fully integrate the role of culture into the EUs future mental health strategy. Local public health systems are ideally placed to deliver cross-sectoral mental health interventions. Culture-based approachessuch as artistic participation, museum engagement, or creative group activitiescan serve as effective, non-clinical pathways to improve emotional well-being, reduce loneliness, and support early intervention. These initiatives complement traditional mental health services and often reach population groups who may not otherwise seek help. Evidence shows that cultural engagement supports individual and community resilience. As highlighted in the CultureForHealth project, funded under a European Parliament Preparatory Action, these benefits are well documented across a wide range of activitiesfrom music and visual arts to heritage and storytelling. [See pages 1315 of the CultureForHealth Policy Recommendations and page 11 for a synthesis of evidence.] Drawing on over 6,000 studies, including a detailed review of 310 scientific sources, the CultureForHealth report confirms that cultural participation can: Boost self-esteem and personal agency Foster social inclusion and reduce isolation Improve physical health outcomes through emotional expression and movement Alleviate stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression The potential of these interventions is particularly strong when embedded into local care pathways. Examples such as culture-based social prescribingpiloted across the UK and several EU regionsdemonstrate how health professionals can refer individuals to cultural or creative activities as part of an integrated support plan. To scale such approaches, several enabling conditions must be met: Structured collaboration across health, cultural, social, and education sectors Investment in joint capacity-building and cross-professional training Dedicated and flexible funding streamsideally combining sources from health, culture, and social policy budgets EUREGHAs support for this agenda is rooted in our longstanding engagement on mental health and health promotion. We actively contributed to the 2024 Joint Statement on Mental Health in All Policies developed through the EU Health Policy Platform, led by Mental Health Europe and supported by a broad coalition of European organisations. This Joint Statement calls for a comprehensive, rights-based, and whole-of-society approach to mental health, aligned with EUREGHAs vision for regional and local health policy implementation. [Reference: https://eurohealthnet.eu/wp-content/uploads/publications/2023/230419_statement_mentalhealthinallpolicies.pdf] These efforts are aligned with a shift toward community-based care models and health promotion at territorial level, a shift already underway in many regions. As such, we encourage the Commission to recognise in the Culture Compass the link between cultural participation and mental health and to foster the conditions that allow it to be sustainably delivered by regions and local actors.
Read full responseMeeting with Margaritis Schinas (Vice-President) and
8 Apr 2021 · Health Union