In person icon The EU and global health governance

Abstract

Global health governance has been brought to the top of the agenda by the COVID-19 pandemic; this panel explores the EU’s role in the global health arena, from a variety of perspectives. In the first paper, Katrina Perehudoff explores how the EU conceptualises its global role in biomedical research and development, which stands to partially or entirely benefit low- and middle-income countries. She argues that little is known about how EU standards and trade arrangements affect access to medicines in third countries, and that it is unclear whether the EU intends its ‘internal’ health actions to have ‘external’ impacts. In the second paper, Marta Hoffman draws on the COVID-19 experience to examine the EU’s relationship with a key global governance actor - the World Health Organization (WHO). Her paper identifies a lack of clarity in the position of the WHO regional office for Europe and explores how different configurations of its role might affect the EU’s place in the global health governance arena. In the third paper, Elisabet Ruiz Cairó explores the use of unilateral trade measures - such as export authorisations or restrictions, the strengthening of EU supply chains to limit reliance on imports, or favourable custom duties for essential products - for public health purposes. The paper argues that COVID-19 has contributed to the development of what could be called a ‘health strategic autonomy’ and examines how this might affect trade and health policies. Finally, Tereza Novotná compares the differing threat perceptions, preparedness and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea and the EU, focusing on public health capacity and vaccine procurement. Her paper identifies areas of potential cooperation and examines the implications of such cooperation for these countries’ role in global health governance.

Title	Details
"Make this the last pandemic": the EU initiative for the reform of the International Health Regulation	View Paper Details
EU and South Korea Battling Covid19: Two Models of Health Governance?	View Paper Details
Understanding the EU’s role in the world: Incentives for drug development	View Paper Details
WHO needs whom? A problematic cooperation between the EU and WHO Regional Office for Europe	View Paper Details