S&D puts health in pole position
The European Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats group is positioning itself as the party that puts health at the heart of its work
The S&D group have launched an extensive policy position on health policy with 60 policy demands.
“Health is a fundamental right for people, it fits with the DNA of our party, it's at the core of the EU project and EU treaties. Health is about well-being, social issues, and the environment,” said French MEP Christophe Clergeau.
The new ‘Health as a Priority Across All Policies’ position paper has been developed by the S&D group and adopted by the group as one of eight priority areas. Clergeau says they are looking not just to the immediate future, but see health as a way of positioning the group towards 2029 and the next European elections.
‘Five minutes in the spotlight’
Vice Chair of the Public Health (SANT) committee Romana Jercović said that public health briefly enjoyed “five minutes in the spotlight” following the pandemic, but has since been overshadowed by louder debate on security, defence and competitiveness.
“Health is not everything, but without health, everything is nothing. Without a healthy population, how can we talk about resilience, competitiveness, or security?” said Jerković. “At the end of the day, who will defend us if we do not have healthy European citizens?”
‘Not an after thought’
The three S&D MEPs present (Clergeau, Jerković, and former-Health Commissioner Andriukaitis) say that health has become an afterthought for the other groups—particularly on the right—and that the S&D intends to fill this gap. While Clergeau acknowledged that there was agreement with the Greens on some aspects, the S&D came with a people-first approach.
Jerković pointed to a Eurobarometer survey conducted before last year’s European elections, which listed health as one of the top priorities for European citizens. She says the pandemic exposed the deep inequalities in access to care and the urgent need for prevention, early detection and community-based services.
Everything, everywhere, all at once
Surprisingly, the party has put the word ‘exposome’ at the core of their ‘One Health’ approach. Laudable as this may be, many people will have to reach for their dictionary, or more likely Google, to know what it is.
“How you live and work, what you eat, and the dangerous products and pollution you are exposed to, such as chemicals and PFAS – defines your health,” explains Clergeau. “We want to embed this ‘exposome’ principle by mainstreaming health across EU policy – this is how we can revolutionise the way the EU protects and promotes citizens’ health.”
The document has three parts. The first is focused on the determinants of health with a view to improving wellbeing and embedding prevention across the policy spectrum - food, climate, mental health, working conditions; the second looks at the wider questions of resilience, equity and preparedness through various lenses - including the European Health Data Space, R&D, a new European Health Response Mechanism; and a third section looks at strengthening the role of the EU in global health governance.
Priorities for 2026
The Commission’s work programme should be a next step, starting with key S&D priorities such as revising tobacco legislation, boosting access to healthy food, a cardiovascular health strategy, prevention policies, and a women’s health strategy.