MEPs kick off health policy-focused visit to Greece

A Committee on Public Health delegation to Greece will focus on EU health resilience, life sciences innovation, equitable access to treatment and healthcare workforce training.

During their visit to Greece from 21 to 23 September, MEPs will gain on-the-ground insights into key issues related to Europe’s health resilience: the availability of medicines and the prevention of shortages, regulatory capacity, security of supply, clinical trials, medical devices, and pharmaceutical resilience.

In Athens, MEPs will meet with the Greek Minister of Health, Mr Adonis Georgiadis, followed by Greece’s regulatory authority the National Organisation for Medicines (EOF). They will also hold roundtable discussions with pharmaceutical and biotech industry representatives and visit a manufacturing hub in Tripoli to discuss the local life sciences ecosystem and its contribution to EU strategic autonomy. During a visit the Panarcadian General Hospital of Tripoli, MEPs will learn about local perspectives on health workforce challenges and equitable access to treatment. They will also meet the Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Mr Nikolaos Papaioannou, to discuss labour market needs and training in the healthcare sector.

After the initial meeting with the Minister of Health Mr Georgiadis, Head of Delegation Ignazio Marino MEP (Greens/EFA, Italy) said:

“This mission comes at an important moment for European health policy, as the Committee on Public Health works on legislation including the Biotech Act, the Medical Devices Regulation, the Pharmaceutical Package and the Critical Medicines Act.

“These initiatives are key to ensuring that patients across the EU can access the medicines, medical technologies and healthcare they need, while also strengthening Europe’s strategic autonomy and its capacity to innovate, produce, and respond effectively to future health challenges.

“During our visit, we will learn about Greece’s contribution to Europe’s pharmaceutical resilience, manufacturing capacity, and research and innovation ecosystem. Greece can offer MEPs concrete insight into the opportunities and challenges of maintaining and scaling pharmaceutical production within the EU; reducing supply chain vulnerabilities; ensuring high standards of care for patients; and, addressing another challenge faced across Europe - shortages of doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Strengthening our health systems ultimately means ensuring that innovation and industrial capacity translate into better and more accessible healthcare for European citizens.”