The development of EU health policy and the Covid-19 pandemic: trends and implications

Brooks, Eleanor; Geyer, Robert

doi:10.1080/07036337.2020.1853718

Cited by 43 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…But the challenges of the crisis that has exposed the EU's weaknesses in public health preparedness and response provide also the opportunity for change. Brooks and Geyer argue that earlier health crises like SARS 2003, H1N1 2009 had triggered “incremental but important steps in the development and integration of EU health policy” ( 17 ). Before the crisis hit and under the Jean-Claude Juncker's Presidency health had slipped down the Commission's agenda resulting in speculations that the Health Directorate (DG SANTE) might even be discontinued as an independent directorate within the Commission's portfolio of directorates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Still, hopefully, this COVID-19 pandemic will give fresh impetus to new and robust health reforms at the local, regional, national, and EU levels. The strengthening of EU health mandate by e.g., the joint procurement act will further engage the EU in the sensitive debate about a general expansion of the EU health policy mandate ( 17 ). The recent evaluation report on the global functioning of the International Health Regulations ( 31 ) has highlighted that the major deficiency was not with gaps in the International Health Regulations but with a lack of implementation and coherent translation into national laws and regulations supported by a collaborative and solidary attitude.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The European Union and Public Health Emergencies: Expert Opinions on the Management of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Suggestions for Future Emergencies

Gontariuk

Krafft

Rehbock

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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Objective: The first wave of the coronavirus SARS-COV-2 pandemic has revealed a fragmented governance within the European Union (EU) to tackle public health emergencies. This qualitative study aims: 1) to understand the current EU position within the field of public health emergencies taking the case of the COVID-19 as an example by comparing and contrasting experiences from EU institutions and experts from various EU Member States at the beginning of the pandemic; and, 2) to identify and to formulate future EU pandemic strategies and actions based on experts' opinions.Methods: Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with public health experts from various European Member States and European Commission officials from May 2020 until August 2020. The transcripts were analyzed by Thematic Content Analysis (TCA), mainly a manifest content analysis.Results: This study demonstrated that the limited EU mandate in health hinders proper actions to prevent and tackle infectious disease outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The results showed that this limitation significantly impacted the ECDC, as the Member States' competence did not allow the agency to have more capacity. The European Commission has fulfilled its role of coordinating and supporting the Member States by facilitating networks and information exchange. However, EU intra- and inter-communication need further improvement. Although diverse EU instruments and mechanisms were found valid, their implementation needed to be faster and more efficient. The results pointed out that underlying political challenges in EU decision-making regarding health emergencies hinder the aligned response. It was stated that the Member States were not prepared, and due to the restriction of their mandate, EU institutions could not enforce binding guidelines. Additionally, the study explored future EU pandemic strategies and actions. Both, EU institutions and national experts suggested similar and clear recommendations regarding the ECDC, the investment, and future harmonized preparedness tools.Conclusion: The complex politics of public health at the EU level have led to the fragmentation of its governance for effective pandemic responses. This ongoing pandemic has shed light on the fragility of the political and structural systems in Europe in public health emergencies. Health should be of high importance in the political agenda, and robust health reforms at the local, regional, national, and EU levels are highly recommended.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The European Union and Public Health Emergencies: Expert Opinions on the Management of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Suggestions for Future Emergencies

Gontariuk

Krafft

Rehbock

et al. 2021

Front. Public Health

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show abstract

“…Also, it includes rapid risk assessments, scientific guidance to support decision-making issues related to effective pandemic treatment, the dissemination of disease information and treatment measures directly to physicians and the general public and responding to a wide range of specific requests from the European institutions and bodies, the Member States and other stakeholders (ECDC, 2020). Despite the active action of the EU agencies, many have criticized the effectiveness and contribution of some agencies to the crisis, especially during the first phase of the pandemic (Brooks & Geyer, 2020;. Civil Protection Mechanism's (CPM) RescEU, upgraded from 2019, a system of a common stock of transport, medical equipment and hospitals, was not designed to meet a situation in which all Member States require the same resources at the same time.…”

Section: European Agencies During the Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Covid-19 unfolded, national governments were either already facing the pandemic or fearing that they would soon. The outcome, in many cases, was to keep strategic resources at home (Brooks & Geyer, 2020).…”

Section: European Agencies During the Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pandemic will inevitably lead to an upgrade of the role of some European Agencies. As very accurately noted by Brooks & Geyer (2020), it seems likely that the Commission will seek to reiterate its "traditional" response to public health crises: the creation and strengthening of technocratic organizations, and to carefully lay the groundwork for a possible expansion of its spheres of activity, while avoiding a formal treaties change.…”

Section: Conclusion and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Role of European Agencies in Transboundary Crises: Perspectives in the Post COVID-19 Era

Nastos

2021

HAPScPBS

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European Agencies (EAs) have a significant influence on policy-making and decision-making in key areas, whether we are talking about the daily lives of the citizens or about crisis management. The emergence of EAs was an institutional response to the need for policy coordination in the EU΄s system of governance. The last decade has created a new reality for the European Union, characterized by successive external transboundary crises. The increasingly urgent need for a European crisis response could signal a more active role for European agencies. During the global financial and public debt crisis, part of the EU's response was to set up three new European Agencies. The refugee crisis further strengthened existing agencies, such as EASO and FRONTEX. EU agencies are already playing an increasingly important role in shaping European policies as solutions to crises. Through the experience of the ongoing pandemic crisis of COVD-19, this policy brief seeks to highlight the importance of European Agencies in an effective European response to crises and to contribute to the discussion about the future role of EAs in transboundary crisis management.

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Mind the gap! The role of health policy capacity and vaccination acceptance in European Covid‐19 mortality differences

Farkas,

Rácz

2024

European Policy Analysis

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Two years of the Covid‐19 pandemic caused significantly different death tolls in European countries. Nine of the 30 countries with the highest accumulated fatalities belong to Central and Eastern Europe, although the solidarity of the European Union (EU) provided vaccines for all member states. Using correlation and cluster analysis, this paper identifies the demographic, social, and political factors which can explain the differences. As generally accepted in the literature, the death toll is measured by the number of excess deaths. The examination separates the prevaccination and vaccination periods. While the impact of other factors is also present, vaccination coverage has a salient explanatory role in the excess deaths of the second period. The experiences of the Covid‐19 pandemic simultaneously highlight the importance and sociopolitical constraints of health policy at the European level. The analysis confirms that complementary competences between the European and national levels are adequate for the EU health policy.

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The development of EU health policy and the Covid-19 pandemic: trends and implications

Cited by 43 publications

References 33 publications

The European Union and Public Health Emergencies: Expert Opinions on the Management of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Suggestions for Future Emergencies

The European Union and Public Health Emergencies: Expert Opinions on the Management of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Suggestions for Future Emergencies

The Role of European Agencies in Transboundary Crises: Perspectives in the Post COVID-19 Era

Mind the gap! The role of health policy capacity and vaccination acceptance in European Covid‐19 mortality differences

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