Remarks by Commissioner Stella Kyriakides at the Press Seminar on Antimicrobial Resistance

Press Seminar on Antimicrobial Resistance

Good morning to everyone,

for the first time at EU level, health has really been given the importance that it deserves.

We already had one of the most ambitious programmes in the area of health at the start of the mandate in 2019, but it wasn't one of the top political priorities.

Today, four and a half years later, it is clearly one of the highest of our priorities.

We were always determined to improve the health and well-being of all citizens across the EU. And over the past years we have gone far beyond the initial ambition and have created a strong European Health Union in which citizens come first and which puts patients' needs at the centre.

The pandemic of course changed everything, but we came through it together and stronger.

With COVID-19 we saw a powerful and united EU response based on solidarity to what was the worst health crisis of modern times.

This has been a historic, paradigm-shifting momentum which defined our vision for more, collaborative EU effort in the area of health, backed by concrete action, strong coordination and greater solidarity.

If we can cooperate like this in times of crisis, why not also in times of normal?

With the European Health Union, we now have the best resourced EU health funding programme ever, EU4Health.

We have stronger EU agencies - ECDC and EMA, and we have created the Health Emergency Response and Preparedness Authority.

We have a new pharmaceutical reform proposal, a comprehensive approach to mental health for the first time, the European Health Data Space and Europe's Beating Cancer plan.

And we of course face new and ongoing challenges, such as climate change and antimicrobial resistance.

This is why it's crucial that this momentum continues in the coming years. Investments in health are investments in the future.

Over the past years, we have also been working hard to address another developing crisis, which is just as critical as COVID but has not yet grabbed as many headlines.

Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, has often been called the 'silent pandemic. It is the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

It might move slowly but it has the potential to turn the world upside down.

We must confront it with urgency and determination.

Every year, over 35,000 EU citizens lose their lives due to antibiotic-resistant infections and 1.2million died from this worldwide in 2019.

It is expected that by 2050, 10 million people will die prematurely every year because of it.

The economic cost is equally staggering, with AMR responsible for almost 12 billion euros in health expenditures and lost productivity in Europe each year.

So you can understand why we have put AMR high on the EU agenda, and that we are determined to push forward with urgent and ambitious action.

Just over a year ago, we proposed a reform of the EU's pharmaceutical rules, along with a Council Recommendation on AMR to strengthen our collective response to this threat.

This Recommendation was endorsed by EU Health Ministers in record time, just 7 weeks later.

This for myself very clearly demonstrated the EU Member States' commitment to act.

With the new recommendations, we have set measurable EU and national targets on antimicrobial consumption and resistance to be achieved by 2030.

In particular, to reduce consumption of antimicrobials by humans by 20% by that date.

We have asked EU countries to ensure the prudent use of antimicrobials.

This means that antimicrobials should be prescribed only when needed, used in the right dosages, and disposed of safely when unused or expired.

To achieve this, we have proposed several measures in the pharmaceutical reform and we are developing guidance and support increased use of diagnostics.

Our recommendations also focus on infection prevention and control, particularly in healthcare and long-term care facilities. As many of 70% of infections with antibiotic-resistant are healthcare associated.

Our legislation on veterinary medicinal products and medicated feed aims to halve overall EU sales of antimicrobials used in farmed animals and aquaculture by 2030, which is a significant step towards reducing the spread of resistance.

On the other side, reducing antimicrobial use poses a challenge to market dynamics. It affects sales volumes and could lower the return on investment for pharmaceutical companies.

This has led to a serious market failure, with few new antimicrobials being developed since the 1980s.

Addressing this really is a key priority and we are employing both push and pull incentives to achieve it.

We are for example providing funding for research and innovation such as the European partnership on One Health AMR and have proposed a transferable data exclusivity voucher in the pharmaceutical reform, which aims to incentivize the development of break through antimicrobials under strict conditions to ensure cost-effectiveness.

We are also investing in alternative treatments to antimicrobials, diagnostic tests and vaccines.

Our approach to tackling AMR is rooted in the One Health principle, recognizing that human, animal, and plant health and the environment are all interconnected.

This means that we tackle AMR in all relevant areas of EU action, not just those which are obviously health related.

For example, we have new legislation on urban wastewater treatment that reinforces the monitoring of public health parameters including antimicrobial resistance.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we face a formidable challenge, but we are not without tools or allies.

I would like to share with you that in the work to prepare the upcoming United Nations General Assembly high-level meeting in September, we are, for example, pushing to set ambitious targets both at global and national level and improve access to financing.

We also want to see the set-up of an independent scientific panel that can provide authoritative assessments of the current science and evidence related to AMR across all sectors.

And I am happy to announce that, if the panel is agreed, the EU intends to support its work financially.

By taking ambitious and coordinated action, we can bring new and effective antimicrobials to market, promote their prudent use, and strengthen our healthcare systems. This is our path to safeguarding the health of our citizens and ensuring a sustainable future.