Your AccountUrgent call for a Ringfenced, Standalone Health Budget for Europe
07.11.2025Speaking on behalf of one million people living with multiple sclerosis across Europe, EMSP is calling for decisive action to create a ringfenced, standalone health budget for the European Union. Health needs to be treated as a core European priority, not as an afterthought within broader economic or innovation portfolios.
The evidence from the MS Barometer 2020 is clear: deep inequalities in access to diagnosis, treatment, and care persist across Member States. Only half of European countries provide structured multidisciplinary care pathways, and fewer than one in three have effective employment support policies – despite MS predominantly affecting people during their working years.
These gaps aren’t inevitable. They are the result of fragmented, short-term health investment. A robust standalone EU health budget would guarantee that public health needs guide investment decisions, enable long-term planning in prevention and care, strengthen solidarity across Member States, and rebuild citizens’ trust in the European project.
COVID-19 taught us a powerful lesson: without health, there is no resilience, no productivity, no future. As the EU prepares its next Multiannual Financial Framework, now is the moment to embed health at the heart of European priorities.
Read the full open letter to discover why EMSP believes Europe’s strength depends on the health of its people – and why we need a health budget that matches the scale of Europe’s ambition.
