EU PERSPECTIVES - The European Commission is preparing to launch an EU-wide inquiry into the effects of social media and excessive screen time on wellbeing, with a particular focus on children and young people.
The move comes as concern grows that digital environments are intensifying Europe's mental health challenges. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - The European Commission's revised Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive puts access to essential drugs in jeopardy. Acknowledging the concerns, Olivér Várhelyi, the health commissioner has signalled cautious openness to delaying the legislation. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - Pay more for medicines, or face tariffs, US President Donald Trump told Europe last week in Davos. He said his "most favoured nation" policy will force countries paying much less than the US to lift their prices. He pointed to a medicine that costs $10 in London but $130 in the US. Read more

EURACTIV - Belgium is facing increasing tension between the accelerating pace of pharmaceutical innovation and the long-term financial sustainability of its public healthcare system. Read more

EURACTIV - The European Parliament's position on the Critical Medicines Act (CMA) was adopted during the plenary vote on 20 January, but not without caveats. Concerns remain among MEPs over the text's reliance on coordination and voluntary measures that could prove inadequate to prevent medicine shortages and secure Europe's strategic...

EU PERSPECTIVES - The European Parliament voted on Tuesday, 20 January to take a more interventionist approach to securing medicine supplies than the European Commission first proposed. MEPs approved a negotiating mandate for the Critical Medicines Act (CMA) that goes further on procurement rules, industrial policy and stockpile coordination. Read...

EU PERSPECTIVES - As world leaders head to Davos for the World Economic Forum, the need for a new approach to health security is clear. Japanese drug maker Shionogi warns that Europe must move from crisis‑driven reactions to long‑term preparedness. The bloc should treat pandemic threats and AMR as core security issues. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - Europe enters 2026 in a race it can no longer afford to lose. Global biomedical innovation is accelerating, and competitors are widening the gap. Read more

EURACTIV - Food advocacy group, SAFE, is urging the EU to tighten food rules as lawmakers prepare major decisions on labelling, NGTs, and ultra-processed foods, warning that current legislation leaves consumers exposed to misleading claims and aggressive marketing. Read more

EURACTIV - Belgian and European biotech competitiveness will fail unless there's a redesign of how high-risk therapies move from labs to patients, warns a KU Leuven researcher involved in translating high-risk science into early-stage trials. The warning comes as Brussels advances the Biotech Act and a sweeping reform of EU pharmaceutical rules. ...