Joveva becomes Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Public Health

On Thursday, 23 March 2023, MEP Irena Joveva was elected Vice-Chair of the Subcommittee on Public Health (SANT) at its inaugural meeting. Protecting, improving, promoting and strengthening public health – all of these are among our core responsibilities, she said when elected.

In the European Parliament, Joveva has always been active in the field of health policy, equal treatment of patients in the European Union and care for public health.

“In recent years, when our health systems have been put to the test, many of their shortcomings and underlying problems have been laid bare. This, too, will be addressed by the subcommittee that will play a key role in building a much-needed and genuine European Health Union. I am delighted that I will be able to be part of it.”

During the October plenary, Joveva already addressed the issue of the European Health Union and the importance of empowering the European institutions for their effective work. As a full member and a vice-president of the subcommittee, she intends to continue her people-centred activities:

”No matter where we come from or what our personal circumstances are, all Slovenes and all Europeans deserve access to health systems that first and foremost serve the benefit of patients, the benefit of all of us. In this context, transparency in the purchasing of medical equipment and the digitisation of the health system for a more optimal functioning play an important role. Without health, we have nothing, but we don’t take this seriously enough. That is why I am delighted that I will be able to be even more active in public health policy and to do more for it. More for each and every one of us.”

Photo: Jan VAN DE VEL

The Subcommittee on Public Health will work under the umbrella of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. It will have 30 members and will deal with programmes and specific actions in the field of public health, pharmaceutical and cosmetic products, health aspects of bioterrorism, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) will remain responsible for examining and voting on legislative proposals. It is this Committee where the Slovenian MEPs were assessed to be among the best performing national delegations in 2022 in terms of health-related legislative activities, proportionally to the delegations’ size.

In addition, Joveva continues to be a substitute member of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) and of the Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons learned and recommendations for the future (COVI).

On European Union health policy:

The European Union has put in place a forward-looking framework for the health security of EU citizens. In October 2022, the Council adopted the final acts on the European Health Union with the Regulation on serious cross-border threats to health, the Regulation on the extended mandate of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the Emergency Framework Regulation to provide the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) with extra powers.