EU PERSPECTIVES - The Council and the European Parliament have moved to increase patients' access to medicines and make the EU's pharmaceutical sector fairer. Their agreement on pharmaceutical legislation overhaul seeks to set the new rules, introducing more competitiveness into the sector. Read more

EURACTIV - The fears were once simple: that global streaming platforms would dilute European culture, erase local identities and overwhelm small towns with homogenised images of Europe. Yet in Pitigliano, the Tuscan hill town thrust into the spotlight by Amazon Prime Video's Dinner Club, the opposite happened. As Mayor Giovanni Gentili told...

EU PERSPECTIVES - The European Commission is preparing to unveil a major overhaul of the EU's medical device rules on 16 December, with officials promising "interesting reading" before Christmas as Brussels moves to correct what it now sees as an overly complex and unevenly applied framework. Read more

EURACTIV - Worker safety specialist, 3M, has called for a dedicated health budget line within the EU's next multiannual financial framework, alongside a specific allocation for pandemic preparedness, warning that fragmented early responses during Covid-19 cost valuable time. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - EU health ministers have agreed a significant step toward new EU rules to tackle persistent shortages of essential medicines such as antibiotics, insulin and painkillers. The deal sets the stage for further negotiations early next year. Read more

EURACTIV - Belgium has confirmed it will take an active role in FAST-EU, Europe's new coordinated fast-track mechanism for multinational clinical trials. Participation will position Belgium as an operational test case for the bloc's drive to modernise clinical trial authorisation. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - Europe is failing to diagnose HIV early enough, with new data showing that over half (54%) of all diagnoses in 2024 occurred at a late stage of infection. The figures, released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe, raise fresh concerns over persistent gaps...

EU PERSPECTIVES - A ranking parliamentary health committee member told EU Perspectives that the current negotiations on antimicrobial resistance are a defining test of the European Union's capacity to lead after years of stagnation. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - The European Union has formally launched its union-wide prevention, preparedness and response plan for health crises. The plan introduces a new framework, strengthening Europe's ability to anticipate, manage and recover from serious cross-border health threats. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - Next week, EU regulators will convene for what is shaping up to be a decisive moment in the future of ethanol. A substance regarded as indispensable to Europe's hygiene and infection-control infrastructure, as its continued use in hand sanitisers and disinfectants comes under scrutinity. Read more