BETA


2021/2100(INI) Cohesion policy as an instrument to reduce healthcare disparities and enhance cross-border health cooperation

Progress: Awaiting Parliament's vote

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead REGI SOKOL Tomislav (icon: EPP EPP) PENKOVA Tsvetelina (icon: S&D S&D), MITUȚA Alin (icon: Renew Renew), ROPĖ Bronis (icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE), PANZA Alessandro (icon: ID ID), KRUK Elżbieta (icon: ECR ECR), PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios (icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL)
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
RoP 54

Events

2022/03/08
   Vote in plenary scheduled
2022/02/14
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary
Details

The Committee on Regional Development adopted the own-initiative report by Tomislav SOKOL (EPP, HR) on cohesion policy as an instrument to reduce healthcare disparities and enhance cross-border health cooperation.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the crucial importance of the health sector and exposed the healthcare disparities and inequalities between the Member States and within them, in particular in border, outermost, remote and rural regions, including in regions with low population density.

Cohesion policy, through the coronavirus response investment initiative (CRII) and the coronavirus response investment initiative plus (CRII+), was the first line of defence against the COVID-19 pandemic, thus proving that this policy can contribute significantly to reducing health inequalities through supporting advances in e-health, e-medicine and other forms of digitalisation.

Reducing healthcare disparities through cohesion policy

Members pointed out that access to public services is crucial for the 150 million-strong population of internal cross-border areas and is frequently hampered by numerous legal and administrative barriers. The Commission and the Member States are called on to maximise their efforts to remove these barriers, especially when related to health services, transport, education, labour mobility and the environment.

The EU should develop a strategic and integrated approach when it comes to major diseases by bringing together diverse resources from several funds , including cohesion funds. They also believe that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity to build stronger and more resilient health systems by using the instruments of the cohesion policy. They support the Commission in creating a well-functioning European Health Union to unlock the huge potential of health cooperation.

The report highlighted that many NUTS level 2 regions with GDP per capita lower than 75 % of the EU-27 average and transition regions with GDP per capita between 75 % and 90 % of the EU-27 average, rural areas and areas with low population density do not uniformly match the standards of healthcare provision in comparison with the services available in more developed parts of the EU. Members called on the Commission and the Member States to cooperate in establishing minimal standards in both the health infrastructure and health services and to use EU funds to ensure equal access to minimum quality standards in all regions, and especially for pressing problems in the border areas.

The report called for better synergies and complementarities between cohesion policy programmes to be ensured, with the aim of reducing regional disparities, in particular in Horizon Europe which should generate new knowledge, and EU4Health, making the best possible use of this new knowledge for the benefit of citizens and health systems.

Members also stressed that in order to overcome the major obstacles that exist in terms of equality of access to healthcare in rural areas, wide use should be made of advanced technologies , such as e-health, robotic surgery and 3D printing as an integral part of the ‘smart villages’ concept, with the goal of improving access to healthcare and increasing efficiency and quality.

Cross-border cooperation on health

Members encouraged the use of NextGenerationEU funds and cohesion funds to radically upgrade the digital capabilities of healthcare systems. They called on the Commission and the Member States to use the cohesion policy instruments to promote the digitalisation of medication services in European hospitals, including traceability systems, in order to reduce medication errors, improve communication between care units and simplify bureaucracy.

Furthermore, the report called for enhanced focus on patients in the projects that will be financed through Interreg programmes in the new programming period and in projects focusing specifically on vulnerable and marginalised groups as well as on the gender-related health priorities of the EU gender equality strategy 2020-2025, including SRHR.

Lastly, Members highlighted that several Interreg projects have contributed to cross-border regions’ fight against COVID-19 throughout the EU, for example through the mobility of intensive care patients and healthcare professionals, as well as the provision of medical and personal protective equipment and PCR tests across borders, and through the exchange of information, or by offering legal advice.

Documents
2022/01/25
   EP - Vote in committee
2021/10/29
   EP - Amendments tabled in committee
Documents
2021/09/22
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2021/07/08
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament
2021/04/22
   EP - SOKOL Tomislav (EPP) appointed as rapporteur in REGI

Documents

Votes

Politique de cohésion: réduire les disparités et renforcer la coopération transfrontière en matière de santé - Cohesion policy: reducing healthcare disparities and enhancing cross-border health cooperation - Kohäsionspolitik: Verringerung von Unterschieden bei der Gesundheitsversorgung und Verbesserung der grenzüberschreitenden Zusammenarbeit im Gesundheitsbereich - A9-0026/2022 - Tomislav Sokol - Proposition de résolution (ensemble du texte) #

2022/03/08 Outcome: +: 582, 0: 79, -: 35
DE IT FR ES RO PL HU NL CZ PT AT BG EL SE IE LT HR SK FI BE LV SI CY LU EE MT DK
Total
96
76
79
58
33
52
21
29
20
20
19
17
21
21
13
11
12
13
13
19
8
8
6
6
7
5
13
icon: PPE PPE
173

Hungary PPE

1

Latvia PPE

2
2

Luxembourg PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Malta PPE

For (1)

1

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1
icon: S&D S&D
144

Czechia S&D

For (1)

1

Greece S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

2

Slovakia S&D

2

Latvia S&D

2

Slovenia S&D

2

Cyprus S&D

2

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Estonia S&D

2
icon: Renew Renew
100

Italy Renew

3

Poland Renew

1

Hungary Renew

2

Austria Renew

For (1)

1
3

Ireland Renew

2

Lithuania Renew

1

Croatia Renew

For (1)

1

Finland Renew

3

Latvia Renew

For (1)

1

Slovenia Renew

2

Luxembourg Renew

2

Estonia Renew

3
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
72

Spain Verts/ALE

3

Poland Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Czechia Verts/ALE

3

Portugal Verts/ALE

1

Austria Verts/ALE

3

Sweden Verts/ALE

3

Ireland Verts/ALE

2

Lithuania Verts/ALE

2

Finland Verts/ALE

3

Belgium Verts/ALE

2

Latvia Verts/ALE

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

For (1)

1

Denmark Verts/ALE

2
icon: The Left The Left
39

Netherlands The Left

For (1)

1

Czechia The Left

1

Portugal The Left

4

Sweden The Left

Abstain (1)

1

Finland The Left

For (1)

1

Belgium The Left

Abstain (1)

1

Cyprus The Left

2

Denmark The Left

1
icon: NI NI
41

Germany NI

3

Lithuania NI

1

Slovakia NI

Abstain (1)

2
icon: ID ID
63

Netherlands ID

Against (1)

1

Czechia ID

Against (1)

1

Austria ID

3

Finland ID

Against (1)

1

Estonia ID

Abstain (1)

1

Denmark ID

Against (1)

1
icon: ECR ECR
64

Germany ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Romania ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Netherlands ECR

5

Bulgaria ECR

2

Greece ECR

Abstain (1)

1
3

Lithuania ECR

1

Croatia ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Slovakia ECR

Abstain (1)

1

Latvia ECR

2
AmendmentsDossier
189 2021/2100(INI)
2021/10/29 REGI 189 amendments...
source: 699.164

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

docs/2
date
2022-03-08T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2022-0058_EN.html title: T9-0058/2022
type
Text adopted by Parliament, single reading
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2022-03-07T00:00:00
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Debate in Parliament
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url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/CRE-9-2022-03-07-TOC_EN.html title: Debate in Parliament
events/4
date
2022-03-08T00:00:00
type
Decision by Parliament
body
EP
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/TA-9-2022-0058_EN.html title: T9-0058/2022
forecasts
  • date: 2022-03-08T00:00:00 title: Vote in plenary scheduled
procedure/stage_reached
Old
Awaiting Parliament's vote
New
Procedure completed
forecasts/0
date
2022-03-07T00:00:00
title
Debate in plenary scheduled
forecasts/1
date
2022-03-08T00:00:00
title
Vote in plenary scheduled
docs/2
date
2022-02-14T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0026_EN.html title: A9-0026/2022
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
body
EP
events/2/summary
  • The Committee on Regional Development adopted the own-initiative report by Tomislav SOKOL (EPP, HR) on cohesion policy as an instrument to reduce healthcare disparities and enhance cross-border health cooperation.
  • The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the crucial importance of the health sector and exposed the healthcare disparities and inequalities between the Member States and within them, in particular in border, outermost, remote and rural regions, including in regions with low population density.
  • Cohesion policy, through the coronavirus response investment initiative (CRII) and the coronavirus response investment initiative plus (CRII+), was the first line of defence against the COVID-19 pandemic, thus proving that this policy can contribute significantly to reducing health inequalities through supporting advances in e-health, e-medicine and other forms of digitalisation.
  • Reducing healthcare disparities through cohesion policy
  • Members pointed out that access to public services is crucial for the 150 million-strong population of internal cross-border areas and is frequently hampered by numerous legal and administrative barriers. The Commission and the Member States are called on to maximise their efforts to remove these barriers, especially when related to health services, transport, education, labour mobility and the environment.
  • The EU should develop a strategic and integrated approach when it comes to major diseases by bringing together diverse resources from several funds , including cohesion funds. They also believe that the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is an opportunity to build stronger and more resilient health systems by using the instruments of the cohesion policy. They support the Commission in creating a well-functioning European Health Union to unlock the huge potential of health cooperation.
  • The report highlighted that many NUTS level 2 regions with GDP per capita lower than 75 % of the EU-27 average and transition regions with GDP per capita between 75 % and 90 % of the EU-27 average, rural areas and areas with low population density do not uniformly match the standards of healthcare provision in comparison with the services available in more developed parts of the EU. Members called on the Commission and the Member States to cooperate in establishing minimal standards in both the health infrastructure and health services and to use EU funds to ensure equal access to minimum quality standards in all regions, and especially for pressing problems in the border areas.
  • The report called for better synergies and complementarities between cohesion policy programmes to be ensured, with the aim of reducing regional disparities, in particular in Horizon Europe which should generate new knowledge, and EU4Health, making the best possible use of this new knowledge for the benefit of citizens and health systems.
  • Members also stressed that in order to overcome the major obstacles that exist in terms of equality of access to healthcare in rural areas, wide use should be made of advanced technologies , such as e-health, robotic surgery and 3D printing as an integral part of the ‘smart villages’ concept, with the goal of improving access to healthcare and increasing efficiency and quality.
  • Cross-border cooperation on health
  • Members encouraged the use of NextGenerationEU funds and cohesion funds to radically upgrade the digital capabilities of healthcare systems. They called on the Commission and the Member States to use the cohesion policy instruments to promote the digitalisation of medication services in European hospitals, including traceability systems, in order to reduce medication errors, improve communication between care units and simplify bureaucracy.
  • Furthermore, the report called for enhanced focus on patients in the projects that will be financed through Interreg programmes in the new programming period and in projects focusing specifically on vulnerable and marginalised groups as well as on the gender-related health priorities of the EU gender equality strategy 2020-2025, including SRHR.
  • Lastly, Members highlighted that several Interreg projects have contributed to cross-border regions’ fight against COVID-19 throughout the EU, for example through the mobility of intensive care patients and healthcare professionals, as well as the provision of medical and personal protective equipment and PCR tests across borders, and through the exchange of information, or by offering legal advice.
docs/2
date
2022-02-14T00:00:00
docs
url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0026_EN.html title: A9-0026/2022
type
Committee report tabled for plenary, single reading
body
EP
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  • url: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0026_EN.html title: A9-0026/2022
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docs/1/docs/0/url
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/REGI-AM-699164_EN.html
forecasts
  • date: 2022-01-17T00:00:00 title: Indicative plenary sitting date
docs/1/date
Old
2021-10-21T00:00:00
New
2021-10-29T00:00:00
docs/1
date
2021-10-21T00:00:00
docs
title: PE699.164
type
Amendments tabled in committee
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docs/0/docs/0/url
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docs
  • date: 2021-09-22T00:00:00 docs: title: PE697.616 type: Committee draft report body: EP
commission
  • body: EC dg: Health and Food Safety commissioner: KYRIAKIDES Stella
events
  • date: 2021-07-08T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament body: EP
procedure/dossier_of_the_committee
  • REGI/9/06446
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