Inside EU Health: Global Health Resilience Initiative; critical medicines act; social media restrictions
‘Global Health Resilience Initiative’ disappoints; EU seals deal on Critical Medicines Act after marathon talks; EU could propose social media age restrictions as early as the summer
‘Global Health Resilience Initiative’: Where’s the beef?
Since European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced that there would be a ‘Global Health Resilience Initiative’ in her State of the EU speech, we’ve been asking what this new initiative will add.
There is already an EU Global Health Strategy, a Global Gateway which aims to strengthen healthcare capacities, EMA and ECDC international collaboration… and much more. But what is new? The answer appears to be nothing, or very little.
Instead, the Commission will “step up commitments” and “ensure” continued investment; it will “accelerate” tools it already has, it will “strengthen” a lot of things it already does and it will “foster” additional resources. All well and good, but there is little in the way of firm commitments.
The paper does acknowledge the sharp decline in global health financing, which fell by 20% between 2024 and 2025, largely due to the US slashing its overseas aid, but it doesn’t suggest it will fill this gap with additional EU funds or even ask member states to maintain their development spending. However, it regards it as “crucial to close the emerging gaps in global health resilience”.
There is criticism that “disease-specific fragmentation” impedes efforts to strengthen and integrate national health systems and to “gradually transition” toward the goal of “country health sovereignty”. However, substantively, what this means is less than clear, as you turn the page only to read that the “disease-specific initiatives should continue to play a critical role”.
While the paper criticises “overtly transactional bilateral approaches” - another thinly veiled criticism of the US - ‘Flagship initiative 2’ explains that it will help countries transition to health sovereignty and that the EU will be “supporting the uptake of relevant EU private sector solutions based on voluntary and mutually agreed terms”, which sounds a little transactional.
The Pandemic Agreement, which the EU initially championed and continues to be stuck in disputes over how to achieve an equitable outcome, receives a mention - but stops there.
Catherine Feore
EU seals deal on Critical Medicines Act after marathon talks
After 12 hours of negotiations, the EU Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on the Critical Medicines Act (CMA), aimed at tackling medicine shortages and boosting Europe’s pharmaceutical resilience. Rapporteur Tomislav Sokol said the deal “places patients’ interests firmly at the centre” while strengthening Europe’s competitiveness.
The CMA seeks to reinforce “Made in Europe” production by introducing resilience requirements in public procurement and incentives for manufacturers to relocate production to the EU. Adam Jarubas described the legislation as “the missing piece” of Europe’s pharmaceutical strategy and a milestone for the European Health Union.
Industry voices have expressed concern about the decision to include orphan medicines and about voluntary collaborative procurement, cautioning that participation must remain voluntary and should not become a tool focused solely on lowering prices.
Catherine Feore
EU could propose social media age restrictions as early as the summer
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has signalled that Brussels could propose new legislation on children’s access to social media as early as this summer, amid growing concern over the impact of digital platforms on young people.
Speaking at the European Summit on Artificial Intelligence and Children in Copenhagen on 12 May, von der Leyen said the Commission was awaiting the conclusions of its expert panel on child safety online, but warned that “the discussions about a minimum age for social media can no longer be ignored.”
“That is why we established a ‘Special Panel of experts on Child Safety Online’ to advise us,” she said. “Depending on the results, we could come with a legal proposal this summer.”
Von der Leyen sharply criticised social media business models, arguing that platforms profit from children’s vulnerability. “They are the result of business models that treat our children’s attention as a commodity,” she said. “We all know the consequences: sleep deprivation, depression, anxiety, self-harm, addictive behaviour, cyberbullying, grooming, exploitation, suicide. And with the rapid advance of artificial intelligence, these risks are multiplying fast. These risks are the reality of the digital world.”
She also highlighted ongoing investigations into TikTok, Meta and X over addictive design features and child safety concerns.