The European Commission will present the core of its proposal for the EU’s next seven-year budget on 16 July. Additional building blocks will follow later. Green MEP Tilly Metz warns that the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) risks deprioritising health, both politically and financially.
“Health is at real risk of being sidelined in the next MFF,” MEP Tilly Metz (Greens-EFA/LUX) told EU Perspectives. “Despite being a top priority for EU citizens in repeated opinion polls, current discussions suggest a shrinking space for health in both political and financial terms. This undermines the Union’s credibility and its commitment to social rights.”
Her remarks come weeks before the Commission unveils its draft 2028–2034 budget, set to reshape EU spending. Ms Metz called the downgrade of health dangerous and out of step with public priorities. “Our expectation is that health and healthcare must be treated as a strategic priority, an important element of all actions, not an afterthought or a luxury only in times when everything works well,” she said.
Strategic overhaul
“My major concern is that without a dedicated, protected health budget, meaningful action will be impossible—particularly on prevention, care access, and gender equity. The EU must realign its next budget with the values and needs of its citizens.”
Despite being a top priority for EU citizens in repeated opinion polls, current discussions suggest a shrinking space for health in both political and financial terms. – MEP Tilly Metz
In February, the Commission outlined plans for a future budget focusing on resilience, decarbonisation, and competitiveness. A new Competitiveness Fund could channel money into clean tech and industry.
At the 2025 EU Budget Conference, Ursula von der Leyen praised past EU support for COVID-19 vaccines and Horizon research. She said nothing about future health programmes like EU4Health or the European Health Data Space.
The billion cut that still stings
The current MFF set aside €5.3bn for EU4Health after the pandemic. In 2024, EU institutions diverted €1bn to aid Ukraine, triggering backlash from civil society and lawmakers.
Appearing before the European Parliament’s Public Health Committee in March, Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi acknowledged the cut and pledged to reverse it in the next MFF. “What I can promise you is that I will do my utmost, not only to preserve what we have, but to get back what we lost, the €1 billion, and I will try to create something new,” he said. Mr Várhelyi called for stable, long-term health funding. He noted that Europeans rank health among the EU’s top three priorities.
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What I can promise you is that I will do my utmost, not only to preserve what we have, but to get back what we lost, the €1 billion, and I will try to create something new. – Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Health and Welfare
Despite these assurances, concerns persist across the political spectrum. MEP Tomislav Sokol (EPP/CRO) questioned the funding for key health files like cancer, data, and cardiovascular plans. Other MEPs warned that folding health into broader policies could erase its visibility and impact.
The future of ring-fenced health funding
At a recent policy event on Re-imagining Europe’s health systems, Elisabetta Zanon, CEO of the European Cancer Organisation, warned that the shifting focus of the next MFF could come at the expense of health. “My question is, where is health in all this?” she asked, pointing to the Commission’s growing emphasis on defence, competitiveness, and resilience. She urged policymakers to treat health not as a secondary or incidental concern in the next MFF, but as a strategic, integrated priority across all areas of EU action.
Ms Zanon said health may appear in other policy tools, such as the preparedness fund or competitiveness programmes, but she cautioned that this fragmented approach risks diluting the EU’s long-term health vision. “We may expect a focus on competitiveness funds, which may also cover elements of health. We see also elements of health under the preparedness fund, which is good, but I think it’s really important to think about this holistic approach,” the health advocate said.
Commission remains tight-lipped
The Commission will present its proposal on 16 July. Talks through 2028 will decide if health keeps a protected role. While speculation builds, the Commission is staying quiet on the details.
“The proposal for the post-2027 MFF is currently in full swing of preparation by the European Commission,” a spokesperson told EU Perspectives, before specifying that as per current planning, the Commission is to present the core of the MFF package on 16 July, while additional building blocks are to follow at a later stage. “Therefore, we cannot disclose any information at the moment,” the spokesperson said.
This silence is fuelling concerns that the final package may consolidate, or eliminate, key funding streams such as EU4Health, leaving little room for targeted action on cancer, prevention, digital health or care equity.
