The appointment of a European Commission First- Vice President for Health should be top of the EU’s to-do list post COVID-19. The elevation of the Health Commissioner position would ensure effective coordination and leadership at high level.

The regulatory role of the EU is indispensable to protect public health and patient safety, and is embedded in the body of EU legislation and programmes overseen by the European Medicines Agency, European Food Safety Agency, European Chemicals Agency and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

As of 2 April 2020

Reported Cases (in parenthesis number of deaths)

1. The Citizen Network, www.activecitizenship.net
2. Association of the European Self-Care Industry (AESGP), www.asgp.eu
3. All Can-Changing Cancer-Care Together, www.all-can.org
4. European Research Infrastructure for Biobanking (BBMRI-ERIC), www.bbmri-eric.eu
5. BioMed Alliance, www.biomedeurope.org

Source: Joan Costa-Font is associate professor (reader) in the Department of Health Policy at the London School of Economics.

A key lesson from the COVIS-19 crisis should be that the collaboration and collective action required in Europe to meet these challenges cannot be achieved without transferring powers to a European public-health authority.

To defeat an epidemic, people need to trust scientific experts, citizens need to trust public authorities and countries need to trust each other.

Source: Michael D'Antonio (The opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author)

Europe Hospital and Healthcare Federation (HOPE), www.hope.be

1. Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Committee (APIC), http://apic.cefic.org
2. Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM), www.alliancerm.org
3. AnimalhealthEurope (previously known as IFAHEurope) www.animalhealtheurope.eu
4. Association of Clinical Research Organizations (ACRO), www.acrohealth.org

Countries are ranked on six key variables that support well-being: income, freedom, trust, healthy life expectancy, social support and generosity.

Ranking out of 153 countries worldwide

1. Academy of Allergology Clinical Immunology, http://www.eaaci.org/
2. Academy of Dermatology & Venereology, http://www.eadv.org/
3. Association of Senior Hospital Physicians, http://www.aemh.org/pages/home.html
4. Biomedical Alliance in Europe (BioMed Alliance) www.biomedeurope.org

1. Immediate fiscal impulse: Additional government spending (such as medical resources, keeping people employed, subsidizing SMEs, public investment) and foregone revenues (such as the cancellation of certain taxes and social security contributions). These types of measures immediately lead to deterioration of the budget balance without any direct compensation later.