The Health-Security Nexus and the European Union: Toward a Research Agenda

Abstract

The European Union is increasingly moving toward an integrated policy approach, which also acknowledges linkages between public health and (external) security policy. This introduction to the Special Issue sets out a research agenda on the emerging health-security nexus. It analyses recent policy developments with respect to the public health and security, and discusses interactions along the health-security nexus in the context of the European Union. It suggests drivers behind the integrated approach and it critically examines the health-security nexus from the perspective of effectiveness and legitimacy.

COVID-19 and privacy in the European Union: A legal perspective on contact tracing

“…Pandemics are more likely to occur in areas of civil war (Duff-Brown, 2017). In this line, an emerging policy practice at the EU level is identified, leading to increasing nexus of public health and security (Dijkstra & de Ruijter, 2017). Indeed, over the past two decades, the EU's health emergency response has shifted from a "public health response model" toward a "preparedness model," building on the policy advice of security experts instead of solely health experts (de Ruijter, 2017).…”

“…It has a broad scope of application, taking an "all-hazards approach" by defining threats of biological origin (such as communicable diseases), threats of chemical origin, and threats of unknown origin all as "serious cross-border threats to health." The decision, in this regard, opens the door to bring communicable disease tools of contact tracing into the realm of security (Dijkstra & de Ruijter, 2017). Security and public health especially come together in the area of surveillance, such as border control and tracing of subjects (Purnhagen et al, 2020).…”

“…The COVID-19 threat certainly enters this realm of threat. In this regard, an emerging trend is identified in the EU contexts of "securitizing" of public health, which leads to an integration of policies on public health and public security (Dijkstra & de Ruijter, 2017). Public health policy and national security policy have in common that they require the balancing of the rights of the public against the rights of the individual (Dijkstra & de Ruijter, 2017).…”

“…In this regard, an emerging trend is identified in the EU contexts of "securitizing" of public health, which leads to an integration of policies on public health and public security (Dijkstra & de Ruijter, 2017). Public health policy and national security policy have in common that they require the balancing of the rights of the public against the rights of the individual (Dijkstra & de Ruijter, 2017). Furthermore, often public health, like national security, can only effectively be protected when individuals sacrifice some of their freedom (Eckmanns et al, 2019;Sinha, 2013).…”

Rethinking Vaccine Development as an Integral Part of Preparedness in the European Health Union

“…19 In the EU context, the rise of the health-security nexus was driven by concurrent factors, including a tendency of EU policymaking to be events-driven and reactive, a measure of EU entrepreneurship and a generalised shift towards securitisation in a number of policy areas. 20 The Health Threats Decision, with its specific focus on the coordination, cooperation and centralisation of response mechanisms, was arguably developed with the specific intent of bridging the fields of public health and security. 21 Interestingly, this seems to have resulted in a peculiar hiatus between a securitised public health preparedness framework and the regulatory mechanisms overseeing the research, development and approval of therapeutic countermeasures, including vaccination.…”