The FAMHP is ready for the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union

From 1 January to 30 June 2024, Belgium is holding the presidency of the Council of the European Union. The presidency in the area of public health will focus on three major themes: care, preparedness and protection. The FAMHP will use this opportunity to put our priorities on the European agenda and to help define European health policy for the coming years.

Under the slogan 'Protect, strengthen, prepare', the focus of the Belgian presidency will include the protection of public health. The COVID-19 crisis showed that collective and close cooperation between Member States is very important and that the European Union is a crucial player in addressing health crises. The FAMHP will put a number of points on the agenda that will be essential in connection with European health policy in the coming years. Moreover, the Belgian presidency is determined to continue negotiations on the proposed revision of European pharmaceutical legislation.

As Hugues Malonne, Chief Executive Officer of the FAMHP explained:
"For the FAMHP, the Belgian presidency will be an intense period and I am very pleased that public health will be one of the six priorities. We will therefore also use our role to put our priorities on the agenda. For example, combating drug shortages will be central, but fulfilling unmet medical needs will also be important. In short, the FAMHP is ready for the presidency and we are determined to make a significant contribution to Belgium's key priorities, with the aim of strengthening health across Europe as a whole."

The most important themes for the FAMHP during the presidency will be: 

1. Antimicrobial resistance
First of all, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest threats to public health today and in the future. The European Union must become more resilient to AMR by implementing effective measures to optimise the use of antibiotics. This can be encouraged by conducting research into and developing new antibiotics and ensuring sustainable access to existing antibiotics. 

2. Crisis management
Secondly, crisis management within the EU must be strengthened to address future health threats more quickly and efficiently. We can do this by supporting healthcare systems, by encouraging intensive innovation and by organising the supply of medicines more effectively.

3. Unavailability
Drug unavailability also remains a major bottleneck. The FAMHP is continuing to collaborate with our expert working groups to create structural solutions. But developing joint actions on a European level with our international partners will continue to be important. Amongst other things, the aim of those actions includes addressing acute shortages and strengthening supplies of essential medicines.

4. Unmet medical needs
Belgium is one of the pioneers of clinical research. The European Union makes this possible through funding and enabling legislation. During the presidency, the FAMHP intends to focus on research and innovation in the area of unmet medical needs by identifying and evaluating them and setting priorities.

Meetings and events organised by the FAMHP
During the presidency, the FAMHP will host more than 20 technical meetings and high-level events, such as:

• Conference: Healthcare needs as drivers for healthcare policy and innovation
  Together with the KCE (the Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre) and the NIHDI (National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance), we are organising this conference, which forms a continuation of the KCE's NEED project. The aim is to establish a research and innovation ecosystem that focuses on the most pressing health needs and not solely on pharmaceuticals.
• Conference: Advancing the 3Rs for regulatory testing of medicines
  The FAMHP is organising a conference on alternatives to animal testing of drugs for the pharmaceutical industry, academics, regulatory bodies (national and European), model developers and animal welfare organisations.
• Meetings as part of the tasks of the HMA, the network of drug agency executives or CAMD the network of competent authorities for medical devices, in which topics of strategic importance are discussed on a European level.
• The FAMHP also assists the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the European Union with the organisation of the meetings of the ‘Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices’ Group and the ‘Public Health’ Group and with the preparation of the meetings of the Employment, Social Policy, Public Health and Consumer Affairs Council configuration (EPSCO).
• The FAMHP will also take part in conferences organised by the FPS Public Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, such as the High-level Conference on the Future EU Health Union and the High-level Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance.

The full calendar is as follows:

More information?
The Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union