Source: European Parliament
The Commission established the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) in 2021 in response to the pandemic, to ensure better preparedness and response capacities against health emergencies.
Given the national competences in the area of health, HERA was shaped with a distinctive governance model, set up within the Commission but with the HERA Board assisting and advising with high-level representation from each Member State.
The Commission has concluded a review of the implementation of HERA and on 26 March 2025 published a report[1] that was transmitted to the Parliament, the Council and the HERA Board.
The report acknowledges that HERA has made a significant contribution to reinforcing EU preparedness and response capabilities for medical countermeasures and beyond, but also identifies a number of areas where further work is needed to make the most of the potential to better protect the health of citizens.
To ensure adequate coordination mechanisms for responding to major public health emergencies, the Commission also relies on other tools such as the Emergency Response Coordination Centre[2].
The Preparedness Union Strategy has underlined the need for renewed efforts in the area of preparedness. Funding arrangements for preparedness, including health preparedness under the future Multiannual Financial Framework are being analysed.
The Political Guidelines for the Commission 2024-2029 announced a new strategy on medical countermeasures and a wider EU stockpiling strategy.
The Commission is also pursuing other workstreams related to health security such as the implementation and evaluation of the Serious Cross-border Health Threats Regulation[3] and the evaluation of the European Centre for Disease Control[4].
- [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2025:147:FIN
- [2] https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/civil-protection/eu-civil-protection-mechanism_en
- [3] Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 November 2022 on serious cross-border threats to health and repealing Decision No 1082/2013/EU.
- [4] As defined in Article 31 of the amended Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 establishing a European centre for disease prevention and control.