CoFoE: Sefcovic: People Want Same Quality Health Care Across EU

Bratislava, November 25 (TASR) - Equal access to the same quality medicines everywhere in the EU or the same level of quality health care for all EU citizens are among the topics discussed within the working group on health care at the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE). The group is chaired by Maros Sefcovic, European Commission Vice-President for Inter-institutional Relations and Foresight. Sefcovic has stated that he found the recent first meeting of this group in Strasbourg very useful and stimulating. He was most interested in topics that focused on strengthening the EU’s approach to health. "For example, issues concerning equal access to the same quality medicines everywhere in the EU, reducing the life expectancy gap that still persists today by being able to gradually provide the same quality health care for all EU citizens," Sefcovic told TASR. The group is due to meet again in December, and the commissioner hopes that the discussions will produce proposals that will lead to real legislative action. Sefcovic believes that the suggestions made so far by members of the public who are directly participating in the CoFoE have been very useful. The CoFoE will garner comments and ideas that could result in specific recommendations on reforms of the EU until the spring of 2022. Anyone can register and express their opinions or comments on the functioning of the EU on the official website of the conference - futureu.europa.eu, which is jointly sponsored by the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission. The participants in the four citizens' panels of the conference come from all 27 EU-member states, reflecting the demographic and social diversity of the Union. At least one third of the participants in each panel are younger than 25. zel/df