July 30, 2020: That health must be placed in the centre of strategic and budgetary priorities should be the single most important lesson from the ongoing pandemic at supranational and national level. 

SFP joins many other public health organisations in expressing disappointment in the decision of the European Council to reduce the EU4Health budget in its political agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) and the EU recovery budget.

The scope and budget of the proposed EU4Health programme signalled a commitment to prioritise health, to invest in public health and preparedness for years to come, including a long-neglected investment in prevention and preparedness. However, the outcomes of the Council sent a message that old thinking is still the norm, missing an opportunity for supporting the ambitious plan to uphold the health of current and future generations with a budgetary boost when it was most needed.