Despite the EPP's push for a specific health committee in the new European Parliament, the proposal is resisted by other political groups and stakeholders. With new European institutional planning in preparation, the Parliament's largest political group has proposed creating a committee dedicated to health, as distinct from an existing entity - ENVI - which deals with the environment, public health and food safety. The European People's Party wants the new committee to focus to health issues, which it considers go unnoticed in the larger committee, but the idea is criticised by others who fear that separating topics could jeopardise the cross-sectoral nature of public health.
During the last mandate, health discussions were usually held under the ENVI committee, with subcommittees set up for specific topics. Such sub-committees have been created to handle cancer and lessons learned from the pandemic for example. The closest thing to an autonomous health committee has been a dedicated health subcommittee of ENVI.
Outgoing MEP Tomislav Sokol (Croatia/EPP) has been a vocal advocate for the new committee, saying that "the integration of environment and health in the ENVI committee seems misaligned, given the distinct and critical nature of each area.” “This committee would be instrumental in addressing the complexities of public health more effectively and advancing the well-being of all European citizens," Sokol told Euronews. While the structure of the committees is still b.
