Social dialogue as a tool to promote health and safety at work

One result of the pandemic is the decision to strengthen the roles of EMA and ECDC, and to develop strategic autonomy on stocks of critical medical supplies, on supply chains relevant to protective products, medicines and vaccines and their distribution routes, and on appropriate pharmaceutical and industrial strategies to contribute to the far-reaching project of building a health union in the EU. [...] The availability of vaccines remains a very contentious issue in debates about the global response to the pandemic and about proposals for the future which are taking place in the WTO and as part of the pandemic treaty talks. [...] The EESC opinion on EU4Health Programme (adopted on 18 September 2020), which was drafted in the first year of the pandemic, firmly pointed out the shortcomings in the preparedness of the EU and the Member States for such a massive health crisis. [...] The EESC called on the EU institutions and the Member States to demonstrate the political will to implement a “Health Pact for the Future of Europe” that would reflect the fundamental values of the European Union, including European solidarity, and the pledges made both internationally and at European level. [...] Furthermore, in light of the renewed mandate of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the EESC underlined the importance of making the reduction of health inequalities in the EU central to the Centre’s work and of including non-communicable diseases.