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This fact sheet explains the EU’s rules on medicines and medical devices, as well as the robust legal framework in place to protect public health and guarantee the safety of these products. It addresses key issues in the field, including the supply of medicines, the fight against antimicrobial resistance, the ethical conduct of clinical trials and challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and various geopolitical events.

This fact sheet outlines the objectives of EU public health policy and the context in which it has developed. It presents the EU’s major achievements in promoting health and preventing disease, with a focus on cancer and building resilience to infectious diseases and cross-border health threats. The public health challenges associated with demographic change are addressed, as is the need to ensure access to critical medicines. Recent policy developments in eHealth and biotechnology are also presented ...

The public policy ideal should be to provide high-quality healthcare to all EU citizens and residents in each Member State, also through cross-border cooperation, that, in turn, incentivises improvements in national healthcare systems. Difficulties in accessing cross-border healthcare become apparent when the coordination of public healthcare systems intersects with the free movement of market (private) healthcare services and goods. Inter alia, this paper presents the current challenges and possible ...

This study examines the health effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), trends in exposure, and the effectiveness of EU legal and policy frameworks. It draws on an umbrella review of 198 systematic reviews, quantitative analysis of exposure trends, stakeholder interviews, and comparative case studies across EU Member States. The study shows consistent health effects of PM2.5 exposure across multiple disease categories and identifies persistent inequalities in exposure across populations ...

This infographic presents the key facts and policy challenges surrounding childhood cancer, a rare but highly impactful disease that remains the leading disease-related cause of death beyond infancy in Europe. The infographic underlines that children are not small adults, but rather require specific approaches to diagnosis, treatment, research, rehabilitation, and long-term survivorship care. It also highlights the persistent inequalities in access to specialised paediatric oncology services across ...

This fact sheet explains EU action to reduce air and noise pollution and protect human health and the environment. It outlines the main sources and impacts of pollution, the EU’s zero pollution objectives and key legislation addressing emissions from industry, transport and other sectors. It also highlights progress made and remaining challenges in improving air quality and reducing environmental noise.

This briefing provides a legal analysis and critical assessment of the genetically modified micro-organisms (GMM) component of the Commission proposal for a Directive amending Directives 2001/18/EC and 2010/53/EU as regards the placing on the market of genetically modified micro-organisms and the processing of organs. This proposal was presented in December 2025 and accompanies the European Biotech Act. The briefing presents and analyses the proposed GMM-related amendments, situates the proposal ...

New and emerging plant pests can undermine EU food security and farm/forestry incomes through yield losses, trade disruption and costly control measures, while also causing major environmental impacts through biodiversity loss, landscape change and increased pressure to use pesticides. Using a comprehensive foresight methodology, this study examines how global trade and tourism, climate change and agricultural systems contribute to the introduction and spread of new and emerging plant pests, assesses ...

Youth mental ill-health in the EU-27 is high, rising and increasingly associated with digital environments. This study shows how persuasive platform design, harmful content and emerging AI-mediated interactions amplify offline vulnerabilities in the context of under-resourced, fragmented services and a large 'missing middle' between schools and specialist care. Using seven country case studies and an EU-27 cost model, it estimates that youth mental ill-health will cost about €1.68 trillion over 2024 ...

The European Biotech Act I, proposed in December 2025, is the EU’s first standalone legislation regulating health biotechnology across its full lifecycle, from research to market placement. This briefing sets the Act’s scope and rationale against the sector’s economic weight and the widening global competitiveness gap. It maps the scope and regulatory landscape and places it in its competitiveness context. The briefing also profiles leading biotech hubs across Member States and identifies structural ...