Despite a prominent focus on health policy in the previous EU mandate, priorities such as defense, migration and EU enlargement are expected to dominate the EU political and policy agenda—and spending—in the next five years. Simultaneously, Member States continue to face tight national budgets, complicating efforts to allocate sufficient funding for healthcare. Yet, challenges to health systems are accumulating, including climate change, conflicts, economic instability, and emerging infectious diseases. These highlight the urgent need for sustainable healthcare financing solutions—including dedicated funding—at the EU level to ensure health systems across the region are resilient in the face of competing priorities or emerging crises.

The Expert Advisory Group will conduct a high-level literature review on EU-level funding mechanisms, including country case studies on the use of EU funding in health, and how these mechanisms impact the strength, sustainability and resilience of EU Member States’ health systems. From this work, a policy report on sustainable healthcare financing will be developed and launch in the spring of 2025.