Source: European Parliament
According to Article 168(7) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union[1], Member States are responsible for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care, including the management thereof and the allocation of the resources assigned to them.
In 2020, 2022 and 2023, Greece received country-specific recommendations to ensure adequate and equal access to healthcare, notably for primary healthcare.
They were reflecting, among others, the share of the surveyed population reporting forgone medical needs for financial reasons (9% in 2024)[2].
The situation is worse for women and for lower income groups. Without prejudice to these national responsibilities, the grant component of the Greek Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) includes reforms and investments, with an estimated cost of EUR 1,537 million[3], to improve the resilience, accessibility, and sustainability of the healthcare system.
The national public health prevention programme in particular aims to improve the quality of life of the population and enhance the resilience of the health system by ultimately reducing behavioural risk factors.
Additionally, around EUR 280 million (EU allocation) has been allocated under the European Regional Development Fund to co-finance infrastructure and equipment at all levels of care in the Greek national health system[4].
Moreover, around EUR 250 million are allocated by the European Social Fund Plus towards investments to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of Greek primary healthcare services[5].
All these financial measures are expected to lead to improved health services in Greece and support the principle of equal access to health services, efficiency and social cohesion.
- [1] eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:12012E/TXT&from=en.
- [2] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/bookmark/bac814b3-7a51-4326-8709-5d060d9796e9?lang=en.
- [3] Data retrieved from European Commission’s FENIX database (data current as of 15 April 2025)
- [4] Data retrieved from European Commission’s Cohesion Open Data Platform, accessible via https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/, data refer to spending categories 128 Health infrastructure, 129 Health equipment, 130 Health mobile assets (data current as of 15 April 2025).
- [5] Data retrieved from European Commission’s Cohesion Open Data Platform, accessible via https://cohesiondata.ec.europa.eu/, data refer to spending Category c Accessibility, effectiveness & resilience of health systems (data current as of 15 April 2025).