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European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Press Remarks by Commissioner Várhelyi following the EPSCO Health Council Luxembourg, 16 June 2026 Good afternoon. First, I would like to thank Minister Charalambides and the Cyprus Presidency for all the hard work they have done over the past six months. This Presidency came with strong commitments, and it has delivered strongly. The last six months have been abo...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Press Remarks by Commissioner Várhelyi following the EPSCO Health Council Luxembourg, 16 June 2026 Good afternoon. First, I would like to thank Minister Charalambides and the Cyprus Presidency for all the hard work they have done over the past six months. This Presidency came with strong commitments, and it has delivered strongly. The last six months have been about delivery, and today's Council has shown both the breadth of the agenda we have been working on and the concrete results achieved. I would particularly like to congratulate the Cyprus Presidency for the serious work it started from day one on the Critical Medicines Act. Reaching an agreement already in May is a remarkable achievement. This Act addresses a challenge that became very clear during the COVID-19 crisis and that has been long overdue. I made a personal commitment to present this proposal within the first 100 days. The Cyprus Presidency not only matched that level of ambition; it outperformed it by moving even faster. I want to sincerely thank everyone in the Presidency who worked on this file. The Critical Medicines Act is essential to strengthen the European Union's resilience and to boost the security of supply of critical medicines. But it is also about medicines more broadly, wherever shortages affect patients. Few Member States can explain better than Cyprus what it means to face supply challenges. The objective has always been simple: patients in Europe must have better access to the medicines they need, when they need them. Today, that objective has moved significantly closer. The second point I would like to highlight is the Biotech Act, another key part of our competitiveness agenda and of last year's health package. Today, Member States agreed on the first part of the Biotech Act, the directive, again at record speed. We presented the proposal only at the end of last year, and this rapid progress confirms both the urgency and the necessity of moving quickly in the European Union. The debate today was very clear: the potential of biotechnology is enormous. Europe remains a leader in many areas of biotechnology, but it will not stay there unless we shift into a higher gear. Biotechnology matters for our economies and our competitiveness. It also matters for our health systems, if we want to provide the best available therapies to patients. It can bring more precise diagnostics, new treatments for diseases where we currently have none, and more personalised medicine for patients across Europe. This is very encouraging news. I hope the Irish Presidency will take inspiration from the strong work of the Cyprus Presidency. From what we heard today, including the clear commitments made by the Irish Minister, we have all the necessary ingredients to deliver on the rest of the Biotech Act. The third element is the medical devices legislation. The Presidency updated ministers on the progress made. This file is also part of the health package, with the aim of supporting innovation, simplifying existing rules, making the regulatory framework more predictable, and keeping patient safety at the highest level. At the same time, we want to ensure that new treatments and technologies can reach Europe faster. The discussion in Council showed a strong willingness to make rapid progress on this dossier as well. Together, the pharmaceutical reform, the Critical Medicines Act, the progress on the Biotech Act, and the proposals for the medtech sector are redefining the landscape of European healthcare. They give us the basis for a long-term vision for the healthcare sector in Europe: one that keeps Europe a global leader and ensures universal access to the best therapies available. Finally, ministers also discussed health security preparedness and response. The Presidency provided an update on Ebola outbreaks and related challenges. Ministers confirmed the solid work being carried out by the ECDC and the Health Security Committee, including raising awareness, building resilience in Europe, and supporting exit control measures on the ground. The Commission is following the situation very closely. We are deploying every effort to support the ECDC, local partners and international partners, with the aim of containing the outbreak where it is and helping those fighting the virus. To conclude, Cyprus should be very proud of what it has achieved under its Presidency in the health sector. These are complex and technically demanding files, and the Presidency has managed them with both speed and high quality. Minister, thank you again for your work. SPEECH/26/1374
Speech Brief