Keeping health a political priority in Europe is important, says Stella Kyriakides

The importance of keeping health a political priority in Europe was highlighted by outgoing EU Health Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides, who spoke to Cypriot journalists on the margins of the European Parliament (EP) Plenary Session, taking place in Strasbourg this week.

“In the last five years, more has happened than ever in the health sector in the European Union (EU), due to the pandemic,” Stella Kyriakides stressed, noting that “pioneering and important decisions” were taken. As she said, “we have the largest budget we have ever had to support health”, which previously stood at €418 million while it now stands at €5.2 billion.

Referring to the EU budget for 2025, the outgoing EU Health Commissioner explained that almost €1 billion has been deducted from the EU4Health programme budget to support Ukraine, while clarifying that, based on the programming of actions for the period 2025-2027, the funds related to the European Health Union have been protected “and everything will proceed as is.”

She also pointed out that parts of the European Health Commissioner’s portfolio have been transferred to other portfolios, giving as an example the new European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), which was created in September 2021 and deals - among other things - with the purchase of vaccines and medicines.

Referring to her successor, Oliver Varhelyi from Hungary, Stella Kyriakides stated that she contacted him and met with him when she learned that he was going to take on the portfolio of European Commissioner for Health.

Speaking about the letter that the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, had sent to the Commissioners, Kyriakides said that the most important thing is that it refers to “the various pillars that we have set up in recent years.” At the same time, she indicated that “it is of utmost importance to maintain health as a political priority in the European Union and in the European Commission”, noting that “without ensuring health we cannot have strong economies or strong societies.”

Asked to evaluate her term as EU Health Commissioner, Stella Kyriakides said that “we have achieved a lot”, noting that “we have changed the way health issues are addressed in the EU” and that “we have laid the foundations for a European Health Union based on very specific pillars.”

Taking stock on progress in the digitalisation of health, she said that this was considered unthinkable before the issuance of digital certificates for vaccination against coronavirus. She also noted that the European Single Health Data Space programme is being launched, so that within the next five years people will have their medical records available on their mobile phones.

Asked to evaluate the management of the coronavirus pandemic, Stella Kyriakides stressed that “at no stage did I feel that I could not carry out my duties due to coronavirus.” At the same time, she noted that “what guided me was that any decisions I made had to be made in line with scientific data to the extent possible.”

Replying to a question about whether she had made mistakes during her term as Commissioner, Kyriakides stated that “what perhaps we all did not anticipate was the magnitude of the impact of disinformation from Social Media.” She also indicated that “we must be ready to respond immediately to disinformation and fake news”, noting that “with the pandemic we saw how easily fake news spread.”

Referring to mental health issues, Stella Kyriakidou said that, as a mental health professional, she wanted to highlight these issues at a European level, since these issues “are not discussed.” Furthermore, she underlined that “we have not yet realised the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of people of all ages.”

Speaking about the issues that should concern humanity in the future, Stella Kyriakidou mentioned mental health, the impact of climate change on health, antimicrobial resistance and the evolution of the pillars of the European Health Union.

Responding to a question about the end of her term, she said that she feels very fulfilled and at the same time ready to continue in the health sector. She said that she will return to Cyprus in the coming days, but not to retire, adding that she made a very conscious decision not to seek re-election as Commissioner.

She further added that she has not yet decided on her next steps, pointing out that she remains active in politics. "Politics is our health, our life, our education, our daily life, our neighbourhood. I don't see myself outside this space," she concluded.

(Source: CNA)