Cardiovascular diseases claim 1.7 million lives in the EU every year, but the bloc’s new strategy to tackle them faces a major obstacle: a lack of guaranteed funding. They also place a burden of €282bn annually on the Union’s economy. The European Cardiovascular Plan, also referred to as the “Safe Hearts Plan”, recently presented by the European Commission, focuses on prevention and treatment. However, while the document is professionally sound, it falls short on financing. This was also highlighted during Monday’s meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Public Health (SANT).
Although lawmakers agreed on the need for a revolution in prevention, they warned that without billions of euros specifically earmarked for health, the plan has little chance of gaining real momentum.
Long-term public funding
“The effective prevention of cardiovascular diseases, preparedness, care and research requires dedicated, stable and long-term public funding from the EU. Cardiovascular health needs earmarked healthcare funding, including appropriate support within the next Multiannual Financial Framework, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism and cohesion instruments, in order to strengthen prevention, preparedness and equity across the EU,” states the draft report of the SANT committee on the European Cardiovascular Plan.
“Without adequate funding, the strategy could become nothing more than a dead letter,” summed up the key shortcoming of the plan MEP Romana Jerković (S&D/HRV) when presenting the draft report.
Prevention needs a boost
At the same time, she called for a paradigm shift in how the EU approaches prevention. “If we continue to spend money on treatment instead of investing in prevention and environmental regulation, we risk getting nowhere,” Ms Jerković said. According to the MEP, it is no longer enough simply to recommend that people eat better and exercise more. States and the EU must create an environment that enables healthy lifestyles.
Romana Jerković therefore proposes tightening regulation of sectors that profit from harmful products. This should include taxation of unhealthy foods and an end to their aggressive marketing. At the same time, she reassured critics of regulation: “I am not calling for bans, but for fair business models that do not leave citizens in the dark.”
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Funding gap raises doubts over delivery
Hungarian MEP Viktória Ferenc (EPP) stressed that securing funding for the entire plan—and prevention in particular—must not be seen as merely an alternative, but as an essential prerequisite for success.
MEP Vytenis Andriukaitis (S&D/LTU) spoke in a similar vein. “Preventive strategies without adequate budgets will not achieve real change,” he warned. He also urged Member States to be ambitious in negotiations on the EU’s next Multiannual Financial Framework.
Lawmaker Kateřina Konečná (NI/CZE) offered a blunt assessment. She expressed concern that the ambitious plan could run up against an empty treasury. “The rapporteur writes about financing. But I am a little afraid that it is wishful thinking that we can put on paper but never implement… If we do not find the resources to finance it, we will be sitting here in ten years dealing with exactly the same thing. If we don’t find the money, it will remain on paper. I find that truly regrettable,” Ms Konečná said candidly.
Health strategy risks being sidelined without its own budget
The conclusion of the debate sent a clear message to the European Commission: healthcare must no longer be the “poor relation” of other policies. According to the committee’s draft report, the European strategy for cardiovascular health must receive its own dedicated budget rather than compete with funding for other policy areas.
The absence of a guaranteed budget for the European Cardiovascular Plan was also recently highlighted by Austrian professor and former president of the European Society of Cardiology, Franz Weidinger. “What is missing from the plan? A guaranteed budget. It is essential to ensure that the plan has funding commensurate with the challenge posed by cardiovascular diseases. With adequate financial support, it could transform the EU into the best place for cardiovascular health,” he told EU Perspectives’ sister publication focusing on the health sector.
