Analysis
Politics
What the US Can Learn from Poland’s Election Strategy
12 September 2024
27 August 2024
The European Union, once a passive executive body, is now a proactive force shaping policies in health and defence. Driven by crises like the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the Commission is expanding its powers and pushing for greater European integration. With new Commissioners taking the helm, the EU’s evolution is set to intensify, navigating a new era of perpetual crisis.
Health policy is not part of the EU’s core policy – at least, that was a widely held view for a long time.
Until Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced in her State of the Union address to the EU Parliament in September 2020 that she wanted to lead Europe out of the pandemic stronger than before and proclaimed a European Health Union, other European institutions, such as the Parliament and the Council, followed the direction set by von der Leyen. Only a short time later, this made it possible for the EU to procure vaccines jointly.
Since then, the European Health Union’s policies have been implementing joint pandemic prevention and reforms to national healthcare systems.