In her September 2020 State of the Union address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a European Health Union as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Welcoming the Commission’s proposal, a Manifesto was drafted by the European Health Union initiative, which proposes a more ambitious model of a European Health Union and calls on the political leaders of Europe to commit to creating a solidaric, equitable and people-centred European Health Union.
To delve further into the initiative and its goals, episode six of the ‘European Health Union Now’ podcast sees host Dorli Kahr-Gottlieb speak with one of the lead initiators of the group, Vytenis Andriukaitis.
Vytenis is a former Minister of Health of Lithuania, and he was European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety between 2014 and 2019. Vytenis is WHO Special Envoy for the European region.
Listen to the episode here.