EURACTIV - Belgium continues to rank among Europe's most active centres for clinical research, yet policymakers in Brussels warn that the country's competitiveness is increasingly strained by a widening gap between cutting‑edge trial activity and the pace at which patients gain access to new therapies. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - Medicines that treat cancer or diabetes may be getting more affordable—but cleaning up the water they pollute comes at a cost. The European Commission on Wednesday defended its Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive, rejecting calls from MEPs to pause rules requiring pharmaceutical companies to fund the removal of...

EU PERSPECTIVES - Europe's biotech future is at a crossroads. With €10 billion on the table, the European Commission is racing to show that its funding plans and new incentives will actually drive innovation—before global rivals pull ahead. MEPs are demanding clear evidence that the money will deliver results for both investors and public health. ...

EURACTIV - EU policymaking has become more political, fragmented and increasingly shaped by geopolitical pressure compared with previous mandates, says Sabrine Skiker, Director for Clean Growth at Hanover Communications. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - Europe's crisis response system is up for its biggest overhaul in years—but MEPs cannot agree on how far to go. At a joint committee meeting on 24 March, lawmakers clashed over a proposed €10.7 billion budget, the expanding role of the military in civil protection, and how much authority Brussels should hold when disasters strike....

EURACTIV - Brain health is rising on the EU policy agenda, but early discussions risk narrowing the focus to neurodegenerative diseases, leaving other high-burden conditions such as epilepsy underrepresented. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - EU negotiators have a plan for talks on the Critical Medicines Act: agree on the 'easy stuff' first. Scope and definitions are being hashed out before the real battles begin — joint procurement, redistribution, and European preference remain untouched for now. The sequencing is deliberate, and the hard fights are coming. Read more...

EURACTIV - A Belgian biotech company says it is advancing a novel approach to one of the world's most dangerous drug‑resistant pathogens, as the World Health Organization issues new target product profiles for urgently needed antibiotics. Read more

EU PERSPECTIVES - A medicine approved in Brussels can take years to reach patients in Warsaw or Bucharest. A long-awaited compromise on the EU's pharmaceutical reform aims to narrow the gap between regulatory approval and patient access across the bloc, with new rules on medicine launch obligations and a revised incentive for...

EU PERSPECTIVES - The EU is preparing a fast-track approval pathway for breakthrough medical devices to bring innovative technologies to patients sooner. Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi signalled "preferential treatment" for high-impact innovations. Read more