During its constitutive meeting on Tuesday, the Subcommittee Public Health elected Adam Jarubas (EPP, PL) as its Chair, alongside its four Vice-Chairs.

Members elected the following leadership, which constitutes the committee’s Bureau, for a two-and-a-half year mandate.

Chair: Adam JARUBAS (EPP, Poland) - by acclamation

First Vice-Chair: Tilly METZ (Greens/EFA, Luxembourg) - by acclamation

Second Vice-Chair: Stine BOSSE (Renew, Denmark) - by acclamation

Third Vice-Chair: Romana JERKOVIĆ (S&D, Croatia) - by acclamation

Fourth Vice-Chair: Emmanouil FRAGKOS (ECR, Greece) - elected by secret ballot with 18 votes in favour, 5 against, 6 abstentions

The first ordinary meeting of the subcommittee after the summer break is planned for 5 September.

During the meeting, Adam Jarubas said: “I am honoured to be re-elected Chair of the SANT subcommittee and count on the commitment of our members to tackle together a long list of urgent issues, to meet our citizens’ expectations.

We must motivate member states to finalise their position so we can complete work on the largest reform of the EU medicines market in over 20 years, the pharmaceutical package. We need to focus on derisking the EU in critical medicines. We will monitor the implementation of EU’s Beating Cancer Plan, a great success of the past term, and build strategies for cardiovascular diseases, related diabetic diseases and neurodegenerative diseases. We need a Mental Health Action Plan, with particular focus on young people in the digital era. We must monitor the proper implementation of the European Health Data Space, bearing in mind that the use of AI algorithms in the health sector may require separate sectoral regulation. We must also ensure appropriate funds for health programs, such as EU4Health and Horizon Europe, in the next Multiannual Financial Framework which we will adopt this term.

All these actions should continue to aim at eliminating health inequalities both among and within EU countries - health may depend on DNA code, but it must not depend on postal code.”

Background

In the tenth legislature, the SANT subcommittee will have 30 members, appointed during the plenary sitting of 16-19 July 2024. In February 2023, Parliament approved the creation of the public health subcommittee, responsible for public health matters, and particularly the programmes and specific actions in the field of public health, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, health aspects of bioterrorism, the European Medicines Agency and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) remains responsible for examining and voting on legislative proposals.