On 16 July 2025, the European Commission published its draft proposal for the EU Budget 2028–2034 – a key document that will shape Europe’s priorities for the years ahead. A major change in this proposal is that there will no longer be a dedicated Health Programme budget. The EU4Health programme, previously a standalone initiative, is now planned to be integrated into the new European Competitiveness Fund (ECF). We believe that having health subsumed within broader portfolios will be damaging, leading to fragmentation and undermining long-term health strategy.

The European Commission has opened a public consultation to collect feedback until 12 November 2025. All contributions will be summarised and presented to the European Parliament and the Council to inform the legislative debate. We encourage all our members and stakeholders to take part in this consultation and make their voices heard. The more people will fill it out, the more impact it will have.

EFNA has today shared an open letter on this matter with the European Commission President, Ursuler von der Leyen. This letter can be viewed here, or a copy in .PDF format can be downloaded.

Please contribute to the consultation

This will take no longer than 3 minutes.
To complete the consultation, please click here: EU’s next long-term budget (MFF) – EU funding for competitiveness

Scroll down to:

Commission adoption
Feedback: Open
Feedback period: 18 July 2025 – 12 November 2025 (midnight Brussels time)

and press: Give feedback

Suggested text for inclusion in the comment box: We urge the European Commission to establish a ringfenced, standalone health budget that reflects the strategic importance of health to Europe’s future. When health is subsumed under innovation or other thematic umbrellas, it risks being deprioritised in favour of technological or economic objectives that may not align with the urgent needs of patients, healthcare systems, and public health. We believe that a ring-fenced health budget would: Ensure that health priorities are defined by public health needs, not market dynamics. Enable targeted investment in prevention, care, and research for high-burden conditions, including neurological diseases. Strengthen resilience of healthcare systems across Member States. Foster trust among citizens that their health is a central concern of the European project. We respectfully urge the European Commission to initiate a dialogue with civil society, patient organisations, and healthcare stakeholders to explore the creation of a standalone health budget in the next Multiannual Financial Framework. A competitive and resilient Europe cannot be achieved without a healthy Europe.

You can also upload EFNA’s Open Letter, as an attachment.

Thank you for participating in this consultation and making your voice heard!