Speech by Commissioner Stella Kyriakides at the 10th High-Level Meeting of the Small Countries Initiative

Small Countries Initiative

Ministers, Dr. Kluge, Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be with all of you today at this important conference.

Since its establishment in 2013, the Small Countries Initiative has been guided by the belief that we can do more by working together and has given us a solid platform to do so.

Just because a Member State is small, it does not mean their challenges are small.

For smaller countries, some challenges are even bigger – like retaining their healthcare work force and promoting the digitalisation of their health systems.

These same guiding principles are what underpin our strong European Health Union.

Our common goal is to strengthen our health systems and provide the best standards of treatment and care for every citizen, no matter where they live.

We saw how solidarity and collaboration allowed us to deal with an unprecedented health crisis, the Covid 19 pandemic, through building a European vaccine strategy that allowed all European citizens to have access to vaccines at the same time no matter where they lived in the EU, that allowed us to develop a Covid 19 vaccination certificate, and which allowed us to share vaccines globally.

A European Health Union based on several pillars, from strengthening preparedness and surveillance through the strengthening of the mandates of ECDC and EMA, to be better prepared in future crisis, to digitalisation, mental health pharmaceutical reform, our Europe's beating cancer plan.

A key pillar is the European Health Data Space which will allow the secure exchange of health data for primary use across borders. It will be a game-changer for continuity of care for patients.

Some small Member States, like Cyprus, Estonia, Malta, Luxembourg and Latvia, have already started sharing electronic prescriptions or patient summaries through the MyHealth@EU platform.

The European Health Data Space is also about reusing health data for research, innovation, and policymaking, backed by the highest standards of data privacy and protection.

So, researchers from small countries will benefit from a plethora of data from across Europe and contribute to the development of the next groundbreaking and lifechanging medicines.

We are supporting Member States in many other ways as they strengthen their health systems.

We are supporting these efforts through the EU4Health programme, the most ambitious EU funding programme for investments ever introduced in the area of health.

Though this we have several joint actions such as HEROES, which assists countries with health workforce planning while We are funding 7 different projects to develop digital skills training for health professionals.

Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania, and Slovenia already benefit from these initiatives.

An important pillar of the European Health Union is that of mental health.

We have a comprehensive approach to mental health, with 20 concrete flagship actions backed by €1.2 billion in EU funding opportunities., aiming to tackle stigma and discrimination, support to vulnerable populations, with a special emphasis to young cancer patients.

A European Health Union needs to tackle inequity in access to medicines.

Presently access to medicines depends on where you live. In 2023, Germany had access to 147 of 168 centrally authorised medicines (within a period of three years). But other countries had much less: for example, Greece had 90, Slovakia had 26 and Malta had10 out of 168. In a strong European Health Union, this is simply unacceptable.

So our goal is very clear:

That all patients – wherever they live in Europe – have access to the medicines they need.

Our reform of the rules proposes several measures to facilitate access in every Member State, including smaller ones.

We are going from the old one-size-fits-all incentives system, to one that rewards medicines that reach all European patients at the same time.

The reform strengthens Member States' negotiating positions with companies as they launch new products in national markets.

Small Member States will have more opportunities to take part in decentralised authorisation procedures and bring medicines in their markets.

At the same time strengthening our EU pharmaceutical industry so it remains innovative and a front runner.

Smaller Member States have a great deal to gain from this reform.

Last but not least, a word on HERA.

The European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority has been instrumental in the EU's crisis response.

Now it works on our preparedness for future health threats.

It ensures access to medical countermeasures, through actions such as joint procurement and stockpiling.

This is especially important for smaller Member States, which sometimes do not have access to the same products as their neighbours.

But our work does not stop here.

On 24 April, we will be launching the Critical Medicines Alliance.

This will coordinate EU-level work to address and prevent shortages of critical medicines in all Member States, no matter their size.

Ladies and gentlemen,

One of the most important pillars of the EHU is Europe's Beating Cancer Plan.

As you know, it is a political priority for the Commission, and a personal mission for myself.

We launched Europe's Beating Cancer Plan as our commitment to address cancer across the entire disease pathway and guide patients, their families and carers through every step of their journey.

It has an unprecedented budget of over 4 billion euro.

It is holistic, from prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment to quality of life.

Four years into the Plan, it is already delivering on its promise making a difference to patients, families and carers.

After 19 years, we have a new Council Recommendation on cancer screening.

It contains guidelines for updated screening tests and protocols for breast, colorectal and cervical cancer, and gradually introducing lung, prostate and gastric cancer screening programmes.

This year, a Joint Action will start work to implement this Recommendation, and we are pleased to see many small Member States taking part.

Europe's Beating Cancer Plan is shining the spotlight on the needs of children living with cancer.

This is why we are funding the European Reference Network for paediatric cancer.

The network works to improve healthcare for young cancer patients whose conditions require specific expertise and tools that are not always widely available.

We also aim to establish by 2025 an EU Network of Comprehensive Cancer Centres, to improve access to diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients of all ages.

Here, we remain engaged with small Member States to find solutions to the challenges they face in joining the Network.

Ministers, Ladies and gentlemen,

During health crises, we see the power of solidarity and cooperation.

But we can apply this thinking across all aspects of health and health systems.

In this regard, I am grateful for our steadfast cooperation with Dr Kluge and WHO Europe.

Dear Hans, you have been a steadfast ally and supporter through very challenging times.

Our proud cooperation with WHO Europe runs deep in several areas, and with the challenges we face, is more relevant and important than ever.

Let us all work together towards our shared goals and keeping our citizens' health and wellbeing high on the political agenda.

Thank you