Poland vows to press ahead with the pharmaceutical package in an effort to implement the final legislation as swiftly as possible. Polish Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna said as much at the 20 February meeting of the European Parliament’s Public Health Committee (SANT), expressing hopes of reaching the required consensus at the Council of the European Union. Ms Leszczyna also presented the priorities of the Polish Presidency in the field of public health.
“We have carefully selected our priorities based on several months of consultations with member states, the European Parliament and the European Commission, as well as with NGOs, patient organisations and academia,” said Ms Leszczyna. She added that these priorities reflected the needs of patients in Europe while responding to new challenges for public health systems.
The Minister told the European Parliament’s health committee that the Polish Presidency wants to build on previous initiatives but also bring new elements to European health policy. “What is very important for the Polish Presidency is the safety and well-being of our patients, which should be at the heart of all our activities. The policies we develop in the European Union must aim first and foremost at the well-being of our patients,” she said.
More funding for the EHDS
The first priority is the digital transformation of healthcare. The Polish Presidency will focus on the implementation of the European Health Data Space (EHDS) legislation and the creation of a common institutional architecture. “To do this, we will need appropriate resources for digital transformation, of various kinds. We will seek to increase funding for the implementation of the EHDS in the member states, for example through various programmes such as EU4Health at a pan-European level,” Ms Leszczyna explained.
Emphasis will also be placed on intensifying cooperation between member states within existing structures such as the eHealth network and expert groups on public health. The Minister also mentioned the use of artificial intelligence and new technologies to improve healthcare.
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Against diseases of civilisation
The second priority is health promotion and disease prevention, and the Polish Presidency intends to focus on factors contributing to diseases of civilisation, such as alcohol, tobacco, innovative tobacco and non-tobacco products, electronic cigarettes and unhealthy diets. “The young generation should be protected from these threats. We want to improve our activities in promoting healthy lifestyles and exploit synergies between different EU member states,” said Ms Leszczyna, adding that it is important to share best practices.
The Minister also pointed out that prevention is not only about health, but also about education, the economy and access to healthcare. “It is important to analyse what works and what doesn’t work so that we can share good practices and learn from each other.”
Another perennial topic
The third priority is children and youth mental health in the context of digital media and social media. “This topic will become a permanent part of the European Union’s agenda. We are seeing a worrying increase in the impact of new technologies on young people’s mental health. All member states are facing this problem and must address it,” the Minister warned.
The Polish Presidency plans to prepare EPSCO Council conclusions which would serve as a mandate for further activities of the European Commission and member states in this area. “We want to find an optimal solution to protect children and young people from the negative effects of digitalisation while preserving the democratic values of our countries,” Ms Leszczyna said.
Access to medicines = stability
In addition to public health priorities, the Polish Presidency is also focusing on legislative tasks, in particular the revision of the pharmaceutical package. “The European Parliament adopted an opinion on this area last year, and we hope to quickly finalise a compromise, i.e. a general approach, at the EU Council so that we can implement the final legislation in this area as quickly as possible,” Ms Leszczyna said. The revision of this legislation seeks to address issues raised by previous presidencies and introduces new topics such as innovative products entering the market.
According to the Minister, it is important to find a balance between the innovative and the generic wings of the pharmaceutical industry, to ensure the safety of medicines and their availability to patients across the EU. “The pharmaceutical sector is key to the strategic security of EU member states. The availability of medicines is not only a public health issue, but also a guarantee of the stability of this sector,” Ms Leszczyna further stressed.
In this context, she also mentioned the upcoming publication of the Critical Medicines Act, scheduled for presentation in early March. “We are aware that the topic of medicines safety is extremely important, and we will pay maximum attention to it,” the Polish Health Minister concluded.