The Missing Keystone of the ‘European Health Union’. Historic Development, status quo and Ideas de lege ferenda

The concept of a ‘European Health Union’ (EHU) is in the spotlight, but has not been defined so far. It is no International Organization, as the failed ‘European Health Community’ in the 1950s would have been. The EHU can be seen as an amalgam of already existing projects (Beating Cancer, etc.) and a reaction to the crisis of the pandemic. Quite some progress has been made in strengthening existing agencies (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control [ECDC], European Medicines Agency [EMA]), creating a new authority Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), updating cross-border health threats to a European Union (EU) regulation, and anchoring the ‘One health’-approach (humans, animals, environment). However, a step that was announced by von der Leyen is still missing, an amendment of EU primary law; the keystone so to say. Another idea de lege ferenda is based on the case-law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on ‘animal welfare’ and suggests to see human health as an EU value.