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European Union Legal and Policy Instruments for Improving Treatment and Prevention of Chronic Disease

Ageing of the population is a major issue in the European Union. As such, chronic diseases related to this phenomenon will put a major strain on the organisation and financing of national health care systems in Europe. In this context, it is important to stress that health care in the European Union belongs to the primary competence of the Member States. This is prescribed by Article 6 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), according to which the EU may carry out actions to coordinate, support or supplement the actions of the Member States related to the protection and improvement of human health. Furthermore, according to Article 168 of the TFEU, EU action must respect the responsibilities of the Union Member States for the definition of their health policy and for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care. These responsibilities include the management of health care services and the allocation of the resources related to them. However, this does not mean that European Union is powerless to improve treatment and prevention of chronic disease affecting the population of the Member States. The aim of this presentation is to lay out legal and policy instruments the EU has at its disposal to tackle the issue of chronic disease. It will show that these instruments can be divided into two major groups: regulatory and financial ones. Some of the regulatory instruments, like proposed regulation on health technology assessment, are already in the process of being adopted through ordinary legislative procedure. Additionally, existing legislation like the Transparency Directive and Directive on Cross-border Health Care have shown many deficiencies and are ready to be amended in the coming years. Financial instruments, including Horizon Europe, cohesion policy and InvestEU, may also provide an important added value for improving quality and accessibility of health care provision in the European Union.

chronic disease, European Union, legal instruments, policy, instruments

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