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EUROPEAN

COMMISSION

Brussels, 9.7.2025

COM(2025) 529 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN

PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL

COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

Preparing the EU for the next health crisis : a Medical Countermeasures Strategy

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INTRODUCTION

Vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, and other medical devices, as well as personnel protective

equipment (PPE) are geostrategic products, essential to keep people, societies and economies

healthy and safe.

The need for such medical countermeasures has never been more pressing,

at a time of rising health threats stemming from both natural and man-made origins.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that medical countermeasures are one of the

backbones of EU preparedness and response to health threats.

Their rapid development and

supply were pivotal in saving millions of lives and in supporting frontline responders throughout

the world. At the same time, their development, production at scale and fast deployment helped to

mitigate the devastating impacts on our societies and economies, while highlighting the need to be

better prepared to respond to the next health crisis when this occurs.

Joint and coordinated, concerted actions at EU level and reinforced global cooperation are

essential to ensure availability and access to medical countermeasures.

Building on this lesson

learned, the European Union reinforced its health security framework through strengthened

legislation on serious-cross border threats to health in the form of a new Regulation

, and the

European Commission established the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority

(HERA), as a watchtower for preparedness and response in the area of medical countermeasures,

working closely with other Commission services, the strengthened European Centre for Disease

Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA). In this robust health

security framework, which will be further strengthened through the Union prevention,

preparedness and response plan for health crises,

EU institutions and Member States work closely

together to address health threats that transcend national borders.

Today the EU is better prepared than five years ago, yet Europe and the world remain

exposed to a wide range of growing health threats for which medical countermeasures often

remain scarce or unavailable.

The dynamic challenges posed by emerging threats and structural

barriers, including fragmented and insufficient investments in innovation, regulatory burdens,

limited commercial viability, supply chain vulnerabilities, as well as the lack of manufacturing

capacities and insufficient international collaboration, result in significant gaps in the availability

of medical countermeasures to address the threats we face.

An innovative and competitive medical countermeasures sector is essential for our

preparedness for health threats.

Supporting innovation and the development of promising and

cutting-edge technologies and medical countermeasures will not only ensure that products are

available when the next crisis strikes but these breakthroughs will yield broader public health,

social, and economic benefits beyond health emergency preparedness. The rapid progress of

mRNA platforms observed during the COVID-19 pandemic and their subsequent application in

cancer treatments best exemplify this potential. Strengthening the medical countermeasures sector

Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on serious cross-border threats to health

According to Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on serious cross-border threats to health, the Commission shall establish a

Union prevention, preparedness and response plan to promote an effective and coordinated response to cross-border threats to

health at Union level.

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will further enhance innovation and competitiveness of a strategic sector of the EU economy and

provide quality jobs.

Preparedness and response save lives when diseases with epidemic or pandemic potential

spread within hours or days. That is why ensuring that medical countermeasures are rapidly,

sufficiently and equitably available, to protect people from health emergencies

is a

prerequisite for our readiness for the next crisis. This relies on a rapidly scalable manufacturing

capacity, robust distribution systems and resilient workforce to deliver and administer medical

countermeasures to those in need, being mindful of the specific needs of women and diverse

groups

. A change of mindset is also needed, in line with the Preparedness Union Strategy’s all-

hazard, whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, and recognising that preparedness

does not come for free: the costs incurred today are long-term investments in resilience to crises.

The

Medical Countermeasures Strategy

embraces this change of mindset to proactively prepare

and protect people from health threats, acknowledging the fact that medical countermeasures are

strategic assets to make EU stronger, healthier and better prepared. With this strategy, the EU aims

reinforce its preparedness for the next health emergency, irrespective of its origin, from

pandemics to human-made biosecurity threats or conflicts, by ensuring access to and

availability of medical countermeasures at all times.

This will be achieved through the

following objectives:

1. Stimulating and fostering innovation in the area of medical countermeasures, as well as

their development, production and availability by following a One Health and full value

chain approach to ensure a comprehensive and complete end-to-end approach from threat

and identification, prioritisation, and assessment, through the research and development

pipeline, to manufacturing, and deployment.

2. Driving

joint priority setting, close cooperation with Member States

and collaboration

with EU candidate countries and global partners.

3. Scaling-up

public and private partnerships

and enhancing cross-sectoral collaboration

including

civil-military cooperation.

Such a strategy will not only be beneficial to counter public health threats but should also fortify

our preparedness for other types of crises requiring medical countermeasures while also

contributing to enhancing the EU’s technological leadership and competitiveness in the health

sector. As such, this strategy is built at the interface between the

Niinistö

and Draghi

reports

and is embedded in the overarching framework provided by the

Preparedness Union Strategy

and the Competitiveness Compass

In particular, attention should be paid to the needs of persons with disabilities, younger and older persons, and racial or ethnic

minorities. The

Union of Equality framework

promotes equal access to health for all.

Safer Together Strengthening Europe’s Civilian and Military Preparedness and Readiness.

The future of European competitiveness - A competitiveness strategy for Europe.

The European Preparedness Union Strategy.

A Competitiveness Compass for the EU.

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The Strategy is accompanied by two supporting annexes, one presenting a list of priority health

threats requiring medical countermeasures and the other on an EU strategic plan for stockpiling of

medical countermeasures which is the first sectoral deliverable of the EU Stockpiling Strategy

PRIORITY

HEALTH

COUNTERMEASURES

THREATS

REQUIRING

MEDICAL

Climate change, globalisation, conflicts, and humanitarian crises are increasing the complexity,

frequency and probability of health emergencies, rendering Europe and the world more vulnerable

to rapidly evolving health threats for which medical countermeasures are needed. To ensure agility

and robust actions at EU-level, complementing Member States’ interventions, the Commission, in

collaboration with Member States

, has currently prioritised four categories of severe and serious

health threats posing the greatest risk and requiring coordinated EU interventions in the area of

medical countermeasures (See Annex 1).

The Commission will, together with Member States, continuously review and update this

prioritisation and related medical countermeasures. As with any threat analysis this is a dynamic

process which will be continuously informed by multidisciplinary scientific evidence and

intelligence sources.

Respiratory or contact-based viruses with pandemic potential

Outbreaks of infectious diseases with the potential to cause widespread, sustained transmission are

becoming increasingly frequent, complex and severe. The drivers include among others, the

accelerating effects of climate change, environmental degradation, as well as biodiversity loss,

globalisation, geopolitical instability and conflicts.

Recently, the world has experienced the global impact of

Coronaviridae

viruses such as COVID-

19, recurring

Filoviridae

outbreaks, such as Ebola, and is now facing the rapid spread of avian

influenza among birds and mammals, with occasional transmission to humans. These threats also

include the so-called ‘Pathogen X’, referring to yet unknown pathogens that may become

responsible for the hypothetical ‘Disease X’ in the future. Addressing these health threats requires

a strong and integrated One Health approach, along the human, animal, and plant health

continuum, and dedicated medical countermeasures.

Vector-borne or animal-reservoir viruses with epidemic potential

Climate change, rising temperatures, and changing precipitation patterns are enabling the

emergence and expansion of vector-borne diseases

in regions that were considered low-risk, this

includes the EU

The establishment and spread of mosquitoes and ticks across the EU is

facilitating the transmission of tropical diseases like dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya.

EU Stockpiling Strategy COM(2025)528

Consultations with Member States have been carried out via the HERA Board

Vector-borne diseases account for more than 17% of all infectious diseases, causing more than 700 000 deaths annually with

most deaths occurring in children under the age of 5 years. (WHO, 2024).

The first

European Climate Risk Assessment,

published in March 2024, highlights mosquito- and tick-borne diseases recently

emerged or expanded their range in the EU, including West Nile virus, chikungunya, dengue, Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis

and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.

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Similar environmental changes influence the spread of rodents, acting as reservoirs of viruses such

as Hantaan or Lassa viruses. These growing threats in the EU require preparedness for and

investment in specific medical countermeasures, including vector control measures, to protect the

public.

At the same time, the frequency and severity of extreme weather events – including heatwaves,

droughts, wildfires and floods – have intensified

posing both direct and indirect health risks.

These events also have the potential to affect the functioning of health care facilities and public

health provision, with risks of disruption of production, transport, or distribution of essential

products, including medical countermeasures. This is why medical countermeasures should be

fully factored in the forthcoming European Climate Adaptation Plan.

Antimicrobial resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is spreading globally as one of the most pressing global health

threats, intensified by misuse and overuse of antibiotics, pollution, climate change as well as

conflicts. While many actions have been taken to enhance preventive measures, incentivise the

access to and availability of diagnostics and antimicrobials, and stimulate the development pipeline

of new products – including a new regulatory incentive proposed in the reform of the EU

pharmaceutical legislation and provisions promoting the prudent use of antimicrobials – AMR

continues to rise. This escalation puts at risk many of the gains made in modern medicine,

undermining the effectiveness of existing treatments, including ‘last resort’ medicines, which

makes routine medical procedures and previously easily treated infections riskier.

Availability of

sensitive and specific point-of-care diagnostics in emergency care is crucial for the first-line use

of targeted narrow-spectrum antimicrobials. As for most health threats, AMR has a

disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations, including children, older people, pregnant

women, and people with chronic illnesses.

Armed conflict related threats and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN)

threats

The increasingly volatile geopolitical and security environment increases the risks of security

threats that would require medical countermeasures response. These include CBRN incidents, risks

of state and non-state actors using biological or AI-powered capabilities to design novel molecules

and bioweapons, mass casualty events or armed conflicts. In these cases, a range of medical

countermeasures, such as antibiotics or antidotes, decontamination material and other protective

equipment, might be needed in large quantities.

While several incidents involving biotoxins have occurred in Germany, Norway and the United

Kingdom, these risks have been exacerbated by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, in

particular with the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant becoming a focal point of nuclear security

concerns, as well as with recent developments in the Middle East. This situation requires the EU

and its Member States to redouble their efforts and enhance civil-military collaboration to prepare

In the

Global Risks Report 2025,

extreme weather events were ranked as the top-risks over a 10-years horizon.

AMR is currently responsible for over 35 000 deaths every year in the EU/EEA and estimates from the UN suggest that by 2050

the number of annual deaths attributable to AMR could increase to 10 million globally and 390 000 in the EU/EEA.

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for worst-case scenarios and ensure appropriate medical countermeasures are available and can be

rapidly deployed.

Examples of EU preparedness actions for CBRN incidents

In June 2018, the German police prevented a

ricin attack in Cologne.

At the time, no antidote

was available to ricin toxicity, leaving possible victims without effective treatment. Through

HERA Invest and COUNTERACT, the Commission supported a candidate antidote, that is

now stockpiled via rescEU, ensuring protection from this threat across the EU.

In preparation for the

2024 Paris Olympic Games,

the Commission authorised the

prepositioning of emergency medical intervention kits, along with PPEs and portable detectors,

sourced from the rescEU stockpiles. Such stocks can serve as a temporary boost to permanent

national capacities addressing the exceptional challenges posed by such events.

II.

ROBUST

INTELLIGENCE

SYSTEM

FOR

COUNTERMEASURES INNOVATION AND RESPONSE

MEDICAL

In the face of rapidly evolving health threats, speed is of the essence and delays can cost lives. To

enable a speedy response, robust surveillance and early alert systems, combined with

comprehensive threat intelligence systems for medical countermeasures, are critical to detect

health threats, identify the right medical countermeasures and to rapidly develop and deploy them.

2.1 Foresight and anticipation: enhancing collective health threats intelligence for

medical countermeasures

A robust foresight and anticipation system, that looks at threats requiring medical

countermeasures in an all-hazard approach, will ensure that the EU can rapidly develop and

deploy medical countermeasures to respond to health emergencies.

To upgrade the existing system, the Commission will continue to develop and operationalise its

medical countermeasures intelligence system, the Advanced Technology for Health Intelligence

and Action IT system –

ATHINA.

The first modules became operational in 2025 and are

complementary to other intelligence systems e.g. those on epidemic intelligence run by the ECDC.

ATHINA will integrate existing public health and supply chain data collected and analysed

through systems operated by the EMA, the ECDC, the Commission’s Joint Research Centre, the

World Health Organisation Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence

and others. By

leveraging foresight and horizon scanning, future artificial intelligence (AI) functionalities, survey

and modelling options, it will generate intelligence on medical countermeasures thereby enhancing

the Commission’s analytical capabilities and response options for specific health threats

. It will

operate in synergy with the forthcoming European Crisis Management Platform (ECMP).

https://pandemichub.who.int/

ATHINA will allow for faster, data-driven decisions during health emergencies. It is designed to integrate diverse data sources

– from within the Commission, open-source platforms, and commercial services – to enhance medical countermeasure related early

detection strategic prioritization support, and response coordination. In future, it will also leverage AI-powered modelling and

simulation tools to support preparedness in the field of medical countermeasures for a range of evolving threat scenarios.

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The Commission in cooperation with Member States, will develop threat-specific

Medical

Countermeasures Preparedness Roadmaps

by 2026. Building upon existing scientific evidence

they will outline the key medical countermeasure actions needed to boost the EU’s preparedness

for different health emergency scenarios.

In addition, the Commission, in cooperation with Member States, will develop and publish in 2026

EU List of Medical Countermeasures for Priority Threats.

The list will serve as the basis

for the crisis-relevant medical countermeasures list which the Commission is to draw up upon the

activation of the emergency framework under the Emergency Framework Regulation

. It will also

identify medical countermeasures that can be prioritised for different actions such as those

fostering innovation, joint procurement or stockpiling.

2.2 Strengthening detection and identification of health threats requiring medical

countermeasures

Strong surveillance, rapid identification of and alerts about health threats are essential to

ensure early development and deployment of appropriate medical countermeasures,

minimising the impact of public health crises on the population.

This is what citizens expect,

and it is critical, especially for the most vulnerable and for frontline responders.

Building on the expertise and mandate of the ECDC, and in line with the ambition set out in the

Preparedness Union Strategy, the EU will further strengthen its capacity to detect and assess threats

taking a One Health, all-hazard, and whole-of-society approach, covering traditional health threats

like disease outbreaks, the impacts of CBRN incidents

, armed conflicts and mass casualty events

in the EU or its neighbourhood.

The Commission, with support from the ECDC, will also continue to assist Member States

building their wastewater and environmental surveillance capacities,

in line with the recast

Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive

This work will enable the Commission, in close cooperation with the ECDC, to operationalise an

EU-level Wastewater Sentinel System,

collecting data on pathogen circulation from strategic

locations such as airports. In 2026, the Commission and partners will also launch a

Global

Sentinel System for wastewater

as part of the

Global Consortium for Wastewater and

Environmental Surveillance (GLOWACON),

covering international airports and strategic

locations globally, to detect and track potential outbreaks worldwide. These voluntary sentinel

Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2372 of 24 October 2022

on a framework of measures for ensuring the supply of crisis-relevant

medical countermeasures in the event of a public health emergency at Union level.

The EU List of medical countermeasures for priority threats will cover both marketed and medical countermeasures in

development (including but not limited to medicinal products) to address specific threats with the potential of creating a public

health emergency. The list complements the Union list of critical medicines which identifies human medicines whose continued

supply is considered a priority in the EU.

For radiological and nuclear emergencies, the EU operates the European Community Urgent Radiological Information Exchange

System (ECURIE).

Article 17 of the

Directive (EU) 2024/3019 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024 concerning

urban wastewater treatment (recast),

requires Member States to set up national systems for the surveillance in their urban

wastewaters of public health relevant parameters, including AMR. In the event of a public health emergency surveillance of the

relevant health parameter(s) is required.

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systems will use wastewater surveillance for early detection and tracking of outbreaks, supporting

timely deployment of medical countermeasures.

The Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on serious cross-border threats to health requires the Commission

to establish a network of EU Reference Laboratories (EURLs) for public health

. This work is

well advanced, as nine EURLs have already been designated and are playing a vital role in

strengthening the EU’s health security architecture, including, for where relevant, the development

of MCMs. The Commission has also established the DURABLE project composed of 19 partners

from academia and public health institutes that support the Commission with high quality

biological intelligence and critical research on the several categories of medical countermeasures

(e.g. vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, PPEs, and biocides)

. The Commission considers

expanding its geographical coverage, to enhance further the EU’s capacity in identifying,

characterising, and developing medical countermeasures and characterising pathogens of interest

and concern ensuring synergies, complementarity and avoiding duplication with the work of

EURLs. Overall, the Commission will continue to support Member States in strengthening their

state-of-the-art laboratory capacities, harnessing innovative tools like metagenomics,

bioinformatics and AI, to accelerate threat detection, enable biological characterisation and

intelligence, and diagnostic development.

Key Actions:

The Commission will:

•

Operationalise and expand, in collaboration with the ECDC, an

EU Wastewater Sentinel

System

and a

Global Wastewater Sentinel System

[2026]

•

Consider expanding DURABLE

network geographical coverage to partners across other

regions of the globe [2027]

The Commission will, in cooperation with Member States:

•

Develop

medical countermeasures preparedness roadmaps

for specific health

emergencies scenarios [2026]

•

Establish an

EU List of Medical Countermeasures for priority threats

[2026]

III.

STRENGTHENING THE MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES PIPELINE

–

FROM INNOVATION TO MANUFACTURING

The EU is a hub for the innovation, the development and production of medical

countermeasures.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, almost half of global vaccine patent

EU Reference Laboratories for public health are designated consortia of laboratories under Article. 15 of the Regulation on

serious cross-border threats to health (Regulation

(EU) 2022/2371)

that provide support to national reference laboratories in the

field of reference diagnostics (including testing protocols), reference materials, surveillance, notification and outbreak response,

scientific advice, research, quality assurance, training and reporting uniformization. Currently, 9 EURL for public health have been

nominated:

https://health.ec.europa.eu/health-security-and-infectious-diseases/surveillance-and-early-warning/eu-reference-laboratories-public-health_en

For example,

DURABLE

has been responsible for important scientific advances of the protective effect of influenza vaccines

and on the transmission of H5 (avian influenza) on animals, which supports the Commission in preparing for potential outbreaks

and inform on the effectiveness of existing MCMs and need for further R&D activities.

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applications came from the EU, and the EU’s strong manufacturing base was rapidly scaled up,

turning the Union into the “pharmacy of the world”

Building upon its strong research base, robust pharmaceutical industry and talented health

workforce, the EU must continue to reinforce its leadership in medical countermeasures

development and production, working in close partnerships with global partners and

complementing measures under the reform of the general pharmaceutical legislation, the EU Life

Sciences Strategy

, the Startup and Scaleup Strategy

, the proposed Critical Medicines Act

and

the planned European Innovation Act and Biotech Act.

3.1 Advancing medical countermeasures innovation

Currently, EU funding tools to advance the research and development of medical countermeasures

are fragmented across programmes such as Horizon Europe, EU4Health, the European Defence

Fund, and Cohesion Policy funds, hindering the efficient and coherent progress of research and

development efforts.

To maximise the impact of EU funding and best leverage the potential of the EU budget to

accelerate the development of medical countermeasures, the Commission will develop a

Medical

Countermeasures Accelerator

by 2025, an integrated and simplified framework to accelerate the

development of medical countermeasures and designed to support innovators throughout the

development cycle, from research to market entry. Functioning as a one-stop-shop, it will ensure

a fair, transparent and competitive process through catalytic actions and support to innovation

enablers. The Accelerator will draw on the range of financial instruments available in EU

programmes

, in line with their specific programming and governance arrangements, ensuring

synergies and avoiding duplication. These financial instruments will include grants, procurement

of innovation, advance purchase agreements, loans, equity and venture capital.

The Accelerator will focus on the most needed medical countermeasures (i.e. vaccines,

therapeutics, diagnostics, PPE and technologies) across the four threat categories. Building on the

Commission’s call to speed up the development of

next-generation influenza vaccine

candidates

, future actions will consider support for new vaccines or antivirals against vector-

borne diseases, new antimicrobials to which resistance has not emerged, vaccines against Ebola

and/or Marburg viruses or new point-of-care diagnostics for respiratory viruses.

The Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB) have successfully rolled out a unique

quasi-equity, venture loan financing instrument that stimulates innovation in medical

countermeasures across Europe, with a focus on supporting EU-based SMEs. To further promote

In 2022, 40% of the world’s vaccines against COVID-19 were exported from the EU.

Choose Europe for life sciences A strategy to position the EU as the world’s most attractive place for life sciences by 2030

The EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy.

Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council laying a framework for strengthening the availability

and security of supply of critical medicinal products as well as the availability of, and accessibility of, medicinal products of

common interest, and amending Regulation (EU) 2024/795.

For the duration of the Multinannual Financial Framework 2021-2027, the Medical Countermeasures Accelerator may be

supported by the EU programmes such as Horizon Europe and EU4Health Programme.

The Commission has pledged EUR 225 million to set up Framework contracts to speed up the development of next generation

influenza vaccines.

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cutting-edge innovation, bridge the investment gap in this critical sector, and maintain a highly

attractive environment for pharmaceutical companies and startups within the EU, the Commission,

together with the EIB, will expand support for promising European startups and SMEs developing

medical countermeasures and related technologies by doubling the size of HERA Invest to reach

EUR 200 million by 2027.

Furthermore, together with the Member States, the Commission intends to reinforce information

sharing mechanisms between EU and national funding programmes and priorities in the area of

medical countermeasures. This will foster closer coordination and ensure the complementarity of

actions.

AMR - Advancing innovation and access to antimicrobials

Building on the successful development of a new antibiotic class for resistant gonorrhoea and a

new multi-resistant tuberculosis vaccine, the Commission plans to further advance innovation

in antibiotics, alternative treatments, diagnostics and vaccines targeting AMR by:

- Organising

targeted calls

to speed up innovation to address high risk bacterial and

fungal pathogens.

- Investing EUR 75 million in the Horizon Europe

One Health AMR Partnership

to step

up EU actions to combat antimicrobial resistance taking a One Health approach.

- Incentivising the development of priority antimicrobials through the introduction of an

innovative pull incentive scheme known as the Transferable Exclusivity Voucher (TEV)

included in the Commission’s proposal for the new pharmaceutical legislation.

- Improving access to AMR products by developing innovative economic models,

including revenue guarantee or other forms of financial

pull incentives

and

joint

procurement.

- Supporting

WHO

efforts to monitor and assess the global R&D pipeline for AMR.

In addition, following the UNGA political declaration on AMR, the Commission will support

the establishment of an

Independent Panel for Evidence on Action Against AMR

that is

expected to support high impact interventions in the field of AMR R&D

3.2 Innovation enablers to speed-up the development of medical countermeasures

addressing priority threats

Preparedness for health threats requires the EU to support the development of a diversified

portfolio of medical countermeasures leveraging the development of rapid response platforms and

technological enablers, such as digital and AI technologies.

These actions will help consolidate the EU’s position as a leading centre for medical

countermeasures research, development, and innovation.

Rapid response platforms and partnerships

Since health threats can emerge unpredictably and spread quickly, rapid response platforms have

become essential for ensuring timely interventions, focusing on the development of technologies

The Commission will continue to support Member States through the “Joint Action JAMRAI 2”, to help them implement their

National Action Plans and move towards achieving the 2030 targets.

https://eu-jamrai.eu/

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that can quickly pivot to ensure rapid access to effective medical countermeasures when an

emergency occurs.

Building upon projects such as the European Vaccine Hub (see box below), their early lessons

learned, the Horizon Europe Pandemic Preparedness Partnership, the Clinical Research Investment

Plan announced in the Life Sciences Strategy, and supported by experts’ groups, such as the

Clinical Trials Coordination Mechanism, the Commission will:

•

Launch a pilot for a

European Diagnostics Hub

by 2026 to

invest and develop next-

generation diagnostic tests and technologies,

that are quickly scalable, easily adaptable,

and usable at point of care addressing multiple pathogens and complementing the work of

DURABLE with rapid diagnostics.

Launch a

European Therapeutics Hub

by 2027 to foster the

development of broad-

spectrum monoclonal antibodies

and

antivirals

that can be rapidly deployed against a

wide range of pathogens such as coronaviruses, Ebola, Marburg, mpox, dengue, as well as

unknown threats like “Pathogen X”.

Through the Research Infrastructures/ISIDORe network, the Commission will explore

increased support for European researchers and projects with

facilitated or free access to

infrastructure services,

such as

biobanks

or medical cohorts.

•

Rapid Vaccine Development Platform – The European Vaccine Hub

Launched in 2025, the European Vaccine Hub is a consortium of leading European actors in

charge of advancing the development and manufacturing of vaccines for public health threats

with EUR 102 million in funding over four years. The European Vaccine Hub will:

Start and speed up the development of first investigational vaccines against any threat

within four months from its emergence.

Propose a prototype vaccine strategy utilizing cutting-edge platform technologies.

Drive preclinical, phase I/II, and Controlled Human Infection Model (CHIM) vaccine

trials against selected pathogens.

Reinforce public-private partnerships for vaccine manufacturing.

Facilitate access to vaccine production facilities, clinical trial sites, analytical

laboratories, technology transfers, and expanded production via industry partnerships.

The Commission will also continue to team up with international partners, thereby enhancing

synergies and alignment between EU and global initiatives for the development of medical

countermeasures. Specifically, the Commission will:

•

Continue to support the

Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI)

for

vaccine development against jointly agreed priorities.

Partner with

Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi)

to support clinical trials for

promising antivirals against dengue.

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•

Continue to invest in the development of new antibiotics effective against resistant bacteria,

by supporting the

Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Biopharmaceutical

Accelerator (CARB-X)

and the

Global Antibiotic Research and Development

Partnership (GARDP)

in innovative antibiotics and diagnostics.

Contribute to the establishment of a

Global Therapeutics Development Coalition

under

the International Pandemic Preparedness Secretariat (IPPS), aiming to increase the

availability and accessibility of therapeutics against diseases with pandemic potential.

•

Technological enablers for medical countermeasures development

Digital technologies are powerful assets for the development of medical countermeasures. AI-

based tools have significant potential to accelerate this process by facilitating the collection and

analysis of threat intelligence guiding medical countermeasures development, identifying

promising compounds for vaccines or therapeutics, or enabling faster, real-time analysis of multi-

country clinical trial data. This approach can substantially accelerate the development pipeline and

the discovery of new medical countermeasures. In particular, the Commission will promote AI

tools to:

•

Support faster detection

and monitoring of health threats for medical countermeasures

intelligence.

Accelerate medicine discovery

to quickly find potential medicine candidates including

the candidates that are the most promising for repurposing.

Optimise clinical trials

and use AI to support clinical trials design and data analysis,

thereby aiming to reduce the time to approval.

These actions would feed into the forthcoming Strategy for Artificial Intelligence in Science that

the Commission plans to put forward later in 2025.

3.3 Building robust production capacity for medical countermeasures and reducing

supply chain dependencies

To efficiently protect citizens from health emergencies, the EU needs to maintain production

readiness. Investing in

resilient, scalable manufacturing capability

that can rapidly produce

medical countermeasures at scale when a crisis strikes is essential. This involves supporting

smart,

modular, and flexible manufacturing facilities,

alongside advancing production technologies

and ensuring the security of production sites, including cybersecurity.

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The Commission will create

RAMP UP

the Rapid Agile Manufacturing Partnership for

Union Protection

- a voluntary network of EU-based pharmaceutical manufacturers, innovators,

and suppliers. This partnership will create a rapid-response industrial force to protect citizens

during crises. By collecting essential information on medical countermeasures manufacturing

capacities during preparedness times, RAMP UP will enable the Commission to identify supply

chain risks and respond swiftly in emergencies. This partnership will facilitate flexible pre-

planning at EU level and the rapid scale-up of production in case of health emergencies, while also

helping to reduce dependencies and diversify supply chains. It will operate in line with the rules

and principles of EU competition law.

In parallel to the measures set out in the proposal for a Critical Medicines Act, the Commission in

cooperation with Member States, the EMA and other relevant stakeholders, will work to identify

whether there are weaknesses in the supply chains of medical countermeasures that are not

included in the Union list of Critical Medicines, for example personal protective equipment,

diagnostics devices or medical countermeasures against CBRN threats. This assessment will

inform the prioritisation of mitigating measures and enhance security of supply.

To further enhance production capacity, the Commission will also build on the

EU FAB

model,

which

reserves an ever-warm production capacity

of 325 million vaccine doses that can be

rapidly activated to make the required quantity of selected vaccines for the EU in case of an

emergency. The Commission will explore expanding the scope of EU FAB to cover a wider range

of products and include the preparedness phase, supporting both civilian and military needs and

encouraging innovative manufacturing models that could boost our response to future health

emergencies.

The Commission will also support a launch of

Important Projects of Common European

Interest (IPCEI)

to provide financial support to R&D projects of a major innovative nature that

address health threats, such as the Med4Cure project, to enhance health emergency preparedness

and response to the benefit of the Union, its citizens and its competitiveness.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated the risks posed by export restrictions on the availability

of medical countermeasures in the EU. The revision of the EU pharmaceutical legislation and the

Critical Medicines Act will provide a regulatory framework that will contribute to enhancing the

availability of medicines, some of which are medical countermeasures. The revision of the EU

pharmaceutical legislation also includes a new pathway to authorise medical countermeasures,

such as the temporary emergency marketing authorisations. To ensure a secure supply in times of

crisis the EU will further rely on the Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act

(IMERA)

and the Regulation for ensuring the supply of crisis-relevant medical countermeasures

in the event of a public health emergency

. The Commission will continue to work with Member

States and third countries, to mitigate the risks of shortages of crisis relevant medical

Regulation (EU) 2024/2747 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2024 establishing a framework of

measures related to an internal market emergency and to the resilience of the internal market and amending Council Regulation

(EC) No 2679/98 (Internal Market Emergency and Resilience Act).

Council Regulation (EU) 2022/2372 of 24 October 2022 on a framework of measures for ensuring the supply of crisis-relevant

medical countermeasures in the event of a public health emergency at Union level.

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countermeasures by engaging in and developing international partnerships, and by facilitating the

cross-border trade of necessary supplies when a crisis materialises. It will also continue to improve

the EU customs crisis management capacity to detect and prevent substandard and falsified

medical products and equipment from entering the EU market, to facilitate the inflow of critical

medicines and products in times of crisis, and when deemed necessary, to prohibit their export

from the EU.

Key Actions:

The Commission intends to:

•

Develop a

Medical Countermeasures Accelerator

[2025]

•

Launch a

European Diagnostic Hub

to support the development of next-generation

diagnostics [2026]

•

Launch the

European Therapeutics Hub

to accelerate the discovery and manufacturing

of broad-spectrum antivirals and monoclonal antibodies [2027]

•

Explore expanding the scope of EU FAB

to enhance EU-based production capacity for

medical countermeasures in preparedness and crisis times [2026]

•

Set up

RAMP UP

to ensure rapid manufacturing of medical countermeasures in case of

emergencies [2026]

The Commission and the European Investment Bank are planning to:

•

Double the size of

HERA Invest

[2027]

IV.

ENSURING ACCESS, AVAILABILITY AND RAPID DEPLOYMENT OF

MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES

The Commission will continue to work with Member States and relevant partners to ensure rapid

and equitable access to medical countermeasures. It will leverage public procurement and joint

purchases, expanding and sustaining EU-level strategic stockpiles, and ensure swift deployment

and uptake. For the medicinal countermeasures that are on the Union list of Critical Medicines,

the measures proposed in the Critical Medicines Act could be deployed.

4.1 Procurement

Joint procurement of crisis-relevant medical countermeasures has proven tremendously valuable

in recent years, allowing 38 countries, including candidate and potential candidate countries to

secure equitable and rapid access to essential supplies to the benefit of over 525 million Europeans.

These include, for instance, COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, pre-pandemic and pandemic

(avian) influenza vaccines, and mpox vaccines.

In 2026, the Commission will consider and, if appropriate, propose the revision of

the 2014 Joint

Procurement Agreement

for medical countermeasures to align it with the revised Financial

Regulation and to make it better fit for today's needs for procurement of medical countermeasures.

It will also work with Member States to explore cost-effective and innovative financial and

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procurement models to boost product development and availability, reduce risk for companies and

increase access in the EU. This will include capacity reservation contracts, based on precedents

such as those for pandemic influenza vaccines.

The Commission will also develop in close cooperation with the Member States,

Guidelines for

Crisis Procurement of Medical Countermeasures

in early 2026.

At the global level, the Commission will organise workshops to share experience and best practices

in the field of joint procurement for medical countermeasures, responding to requests from

regional and international organisations. This will enable examining where collaboration can be

mutually beneficial, whether in the EU’s neighbourhood and beyond.

4.2 Stockpiling of medical countermeasures

Strategic stockpiles enable the EU to respond rapidly to large-scale emergencies and reduce

dependency on external suppliers by having necessary medical countermeasures available for

response or to ensure availability during supply chain disruptions. Building on recent experience

with EU-level stockpiles, the Commission will

explore solutions to further support Member

States in maintaining strategic reserves of medical countermeasures beyond 2026.

Given the specificities of medical countermeasures stockpiling, the Commission presents

alongside this strategy an

EU Strategic Plan for the Stockpiling of Medical Countermeasures

(Annex 2), complementing the wider EU Stockpiling Strategy and aiming to ensure the efficient

and effective stockpiling of relevant medical countermeasures against health threats.

The plan will identify and deploy actions across the comprehensive management lifecycle of

medical countermeasure stockpiles and build upon actions already implemented in this area both

by Member States and the Commission when developing rescEU, taking into account the need to

avoid any unintentional market effects or duplication with (inter)national stockpiles. This

encompasses detailed processes for identifying essential medical countermeasures, determining

necessary quantities and the potential need for replenishment, followed by effective procurement

strategies, which also include EU-level joint procurement as a cost-effective tool for strengthening

national stockpiles. The plan also outlines elements to strengthen the efficient management of

these stocks to guarantee readiness and timely access during emergencies as well as a deployment

strategy.

Summary of the key actions foreseen under the Strategic Plan for the Stockpiling of

Medical Countermeasures:

The Commission will develop a compendium of medical countermeasures suitable for

stockpiling at EU level. Prepositioning and rapid deployment according to threat scenarios will

be considered as will be the availability of specific medical countermeasures at national level.

In consultation with the EMA and other relevant stakeholders, the Commission will establish a

list of medical countermeasure candidates for advance purchase and will carry out a pilot study

on stockpiling of unfinished products.

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In collaboration with Member States, the Commission will also explore the composition of EU

medical countermeasures kits, which could be procured through joint procurement or by direct

procurement.

To optimise the sustainability and cost effectiveness of stockpiles, the Commission will launch

a pilot project to extend the shelf-life of certain medical countermeasures. Additionally, the

Commission will assume, when pertinent, a more active role in coordinating at the EU level the

procurement of medical countermeasures to ensure efficient and effective purchasing. The

Commission will, in partnership with the Member States and the EMA, and based on lessons

learnt, facilitate effective stockpiling of unauthorised medical countermeasures.

4.3 Deploying medical countermeasures

Ensuring that medical countermeasures quickly reach the people who need them most is essential

to safeguard lives and respond effectively to health crises.

The

Emergency Response Coordination Centre

will coordinate the deployment of medical

countermeasures, in close cooperation with the HERA Board and/or the Health Crisis Board, if the

Emergency Framework Regulation is activated in the event of a public health emergency at Union

level

The Union Civil Protection Mechanism and reliefEU will provide flanking logistics support for

the deployment of medical countermeasures in the European Union and where applicable to third

countries.

In 2026, the Commission will facilitate swift response to health emergencies by supporting local

detection of threats by easily deployable,

ready-to-use laboratories for biological and chemical

hazards in emergency situations,

including for military purposes, allowing affected communities

to receive the diagnostic support they need, when and where it is most needed.

In line with the Preparedness Union Strategy

, and building on the existing cooperation

mechanisms, the Commission will step up coordination and cooperation between civil and military

entities, notably with respect to medical countermeasures that are required for both, the civilian

population and the military, to better prepare for and respond to health emergencies. The

Commission also considers addressing medical countermeasures deployment in discussions with

armed forces, leveraging new technologies like drones and military logistics to enable rapid

deployment, and secure transport.

To facilitate last-mile delivery, the Commission will promote the development of

distribution

infrastructure,

such as

cold chain

infrastructure, and technologies with lower logistical

constraints facilitating roll out and deployment to the most vulnerable settings.

At global level, the Commission will in 2026 develop

standardised procedures for medical

countermeasures sharing agreements with global partners,

to fast-track delivery to affected

countries in the event of a crisis, building on lessons learned from the recent successful response

A public health emergency at Union level may be formally recognized by the Commission in situations where a serious cross-

border threat to health endangers public health at Union level, in accordance with Article 23 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2371.

European Preparedness Union Strategy.

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to the mpox outbreak in Africa using a Team Europe’s approach. Strengthened collaboration with

Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF will be pursued in that respect.

Key actions

The Commission will:

•

Consider and if appropriate propose the revision of the Joint Procurement

Agreement

to make it better fit for today's needs [2026].

•

Support

rapid response ready-to-use laboratories

[2026].

The Commission will, in cooperation with Member States:

•

Develop

standardised procedure for medical countermeasures sharing agreements

with global partners

to third countries [2026]

•

Establish

Crisis Procurement Guidelines

[2026]

GLOBAL COOPERATION

COUNTERMEASURES

AND

COORDINATION

MEDICAL

The

global availability of medical countermeasures

has been a critical issue in

all major recent

outbreaks of infectious diseases, and global solidarity is essential.

Health threats do not stop at

EU borders and require strong collaboration and diplomatic outreach across sectors at both EU

and global level. The EU will continue to work with global partners to tackle challenges related to

threat detection, medical countermeasures development, and supply chains strengthening, by

investing more in innovation and in the security of supply.

5.1 EU and Global Coordination

At EU level, the Commission is developing a Union Prevention, Preparedness and Response Plan

which will outline provisions on joint arrangements for governance, capacities and resources to

support Member States for prevention and preparedness of as well as response to a serious cross-

border threat to health.

The Commission services and the European External Action Service will enhance coordination

with Member States, EU agencies, and global partners to ensure prompt detection of any emerging

health threats to the EU and the world, facilitate quick and equitable access to medical

countermeasures. This reflects also the findings of the HERA review

noting that activities in the

area of medical countermeasures contribute to building a robust global health security framework.

Effective worldwide warning systems for new threats requiring medical countermeasures are

essential to promptly develop and distribute appropriate medical countermeasures, while medical

research, pharmaceutical production, and supply chains are inherently global. This highlights the

need for coordinated efforts at the global level to speed up research and development of new

Review of the implementation of the operations of the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA).

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medical countermeasures and enhance their security of supply. Global coordination is critical to

stop any new outbreak locally before it crosses borders or turns into a pandemic.

This is why the EU intends to redouble its focus on

global health security,

enhancing

collaboration with the

World Health Organization (WHO),

the

African Centre for Disease

Control and Prevention (Africa CDC),

and strengthening the role of infectious diseases’ global

health research partnerships such as the Global Health European and Developing Countries

Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP3)

, which aims to advance health research and development

and outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, the Commission will continue to collaborate

with other R&D funders coordination projects, like the Global Research Collaboration for

Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R)

The Commission and the WHO collaborate extensively on the prevention, preparedness and

response to serious cross-border health threats through technical cooperation and support, financial

contributions, as well as joint initiatives. To further enhance this cooperation, in particular as

regards joint priorities and activities, both parties intend to establish a framework for enhanced

cooperation in line with Article 30 of Regulation 2022/2371 by 2026.

The EU will also continue developing existing or new partnerships on medical countermeasures

with regional organisations or countries in the European Economic Area (EEA)/European Free

Trade Association (EFTA), the Indo-Pacific region, Latin America (i.e. Pan American Health

Organisation), and selected countries like Canada and the United Kingdom on global health

security issues.

Building upon initiatives under the Global Gateway Strategy such as the

Team Europe Initiative

on Manufacturing and Access to Vaccines, Medicines, and Health Technologies

(MAV+) in

Africa and the bi-regional EU-LAC initiative on local vaccine and health technology

manufacturing, the Commission will continue to support the development of

regional production

capacities for vaccines, medicines, and health technologies,

including medical

countermeasures, in partner regions. In that regard, the EU will also take part in the

G20 Global

https://www.global-health-edctp3.europa.eu/index_en

https://www.glopid-r.org/

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Coalition on Regional and Local Production

. The Commission will also explore ways to

increase medical countermeasures production capacity and supply chain security in our

neighbourhood, taking into account the soon-to-be-finalised study on

the Western Balkans

and

Ukraine’s medicinal products production capacity,

and globally, by continuing to engage with

partners like India and China to address supply chain bottlenecks.

5.2 Civil-military cooperation

Pandemics, the availability of chemical or biological substances, and antibiotic-resistant infections

pose threats not only to public health but also to security, affecting the public and the military

alike. The medical countermeasures needed for civilian use in hospitals or for military use on the

front lines are often the same. In addition, some medical countermeasures have been developed

for dual purposes, i.e. to address diseases of interest from both a civilian health perspective and a

military biodefense standpoint, therefore serving civilian public health needs by controlling

outbreaks and simultaneously supporting military readiness, as can be exemplified with current

new-generation vaccines against smallpox and mpox. This is why enhancing civil-military

cooperation on medical countermeasures is key to strengthening our societal and military readiness

for emergencies and to boosting research and development, as well as production and deployment

capacity.

Medical countermeasures represent one of the sectors with the most added value for civil-military

cooperation. By leveraging research, (joint) purchasing, (joint) procurement or stockpiling,

logistics and emergency deployment, civil-military collaboration has the potential to significantly

improve preparedness and response to cross-border threats. The Commission intends to initiate an

open dialogue with Ministries of Defence in Member States to explore practical ways to enhance

interoperability and response capacity in the field of medical countermeasures.

Building on the objective of the White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030

, the

Commission already set up, in 2025, a

Health Security Committee

working group on civilian-

military cooperation on health security preparedness,

to support collaboration in health

security between civilian and military authorities from Member States which acts also as a

platform to discuss medical countermeasures alongside wider health security cooperation issues.

The PESCO COUNTERACT and RESILIENCE projects, financed through the European Defence

Fund, are examples of successful initiatives that have fostered civil-military cooperation for

medical countermeasure development.

To enhance preparedness for CBRN and armed conflict-related threats requiring medical

countermeasures the Commission will develop in 2026, a

Medifence initiative

aimed at ensuring

the availability of and access to medical countermeasure relevant for those threats from detection

to first response. This initiative will build on current actions under EU4Health and the European

36 Signed on 20 May 2025 in at the margins of the World Health Assembly in Geneva.

Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*[*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with

UNSC 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence], Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia.

ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030.

Article 4 of the Regulation 2022/2371 on serious cross-border threats to health

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Defence Fund, the European Defence Agency’s, and Member States’ initiatives, and help to further

strengthen civil-military R&D synergies. The initiative will comprise several actions, including:

•

developing a

shortlist of essential medical countermeasures for armed aggression

situations and hybrid warfare; also, to help prioritise vulnerability assessments;

supporting the development of

tools,

such as biosensors, molecular, metagenomic, and

spectroscopy tools, to enhance

prompt detection,

identification and diagnosis of both

known and novel CBRN agents;

supporting the development of

pharmaceutical discovery platforms to design

antitoxins,

especially for novel biological and chemical agents, and for agents without

currently available effective treatment options;

procuring,

including via EU joint procurement and stockpiling at national or EU level,

medical countermeasures with civil-military potential, including in the form of kits, to

ensure quicker access;

supporting access to advanced wound care products, pandemic-proof personal protective

equipment, such as high-performing, reusable respirators and suits, and medical devices.

This will improve effective response to CBRN and mass casualty events.

•

This initiative will build up preparedness and response capabilities for CBRN threats and armed

conflicts both for civilian and military personnel. It will complement other initiatives to be

developed under the umbrella of a new CBRN Preparedness and Response Action Plan and

leverage synergies with possible relevant projects to be developed under the forthcoming European

Defence Industrial Programme (EDIP).

In addition, in context of the EU-NATO Structured Dialogue on Resilience, the Commission, the

EEAS and Member States Military Staff will promote complementarity of EU civil-military

cooperation in health emergencies, including with NATO. Cooperation will also be strengthened

for exercises, such as the EU-NATO Parallel and Coordinated Exercises (PACE), covering

outbreak scenarios and mass casualty events. The Commission will also continue to engage with

the

NATO Joint Health Group

and the

Committee of Chiefs of Military Medical Services

strengthen operational cooperation as appropriate, focusing inter alia on preparedness for mass

casualty events, and medical logistics.

5.3 Public and Private collaboration

Private and public-sector collaboration

is essential to increase the development, availability and

access to medical countermeasures both in preparedness and in times of crisis. This is key to make

optimal use of all resources, expertise, and innovation from all relevant sectors involved in the

lifecycle of medical countermeasures development.

Today, the Commission builds upon a unique network of public and private stakeholders involved

in the development and supply of medical countermeasures. Member States and stakeholders’

engagement occurs regularly via different fora such as the HERA Board, the Joint Industrial

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Cooperation Forum, the Civil Society Forum, the AMR One Health network

, or events like the

HERA Industry Days.

In line with the Preparedness Union Strategy, the Commission will reinforce public private-sector

collaboration in existing fora to develop solutions that enhance the availability and security of

supply of medical countermeasures in full compliance with EU competition law. As announced in

the Preparedness Union Strategy, the Commission and stakeholders will also develop

public-

private emergency protocols

to ensure the swift development and availability of medical

countermeasures in case of emergencies. The Commission will furthermore leverage tools like

ATHINA for secure and standardised data sharing between public and private sector to enhance

transparency and accelerate the development of medical countermeasures.

VI.

POPULATION AWARENESS, CITIZENS’ ENGAGEMENT AND SKILLS

RELATED TO MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES

6.1 Skilled workforce

Europe must be the place where today’s and tomorrow’s medical countermeasures are invented,

developed and manufactured. To achieve this, the EU must further strengthen its pool of talented

and diverse health and care professionals – from researchers and manufacturers to doctors and

carers. They need to be equipped with the right skills and expertise to meet both current and future

public health needs, and to reinforce our preparedness and response capacities for medical

countermeasures.

As part of the Union of Skills

, the Commission will continue to invest in strengthening our

domestic talents and skilled workforce and in attracting the world’s top researchers and innovators.

To support a global leading, future-proofed development, production and supply of medical

countermeasures, the EU must invest in quality jobs in this area, including measures to improve

continuing professional development standards, guidance for the workforce, and facilitate access

to learning opportunities. It is equally important to build a community of medical countermeasures

researchers and practitioners who can tailor health interventions to meet the diverse needs of

groups and communities.

6.2 Resilient health response teams

Effective deployment of medical countermeasures also requires a strong and resilient healthcare

workforce to ensure the swift detection of outbreaks and the administration of countermeasures.

Building on initiatives such as the ECDC’s Emergency Medical Teams under rescEU which

support health emergency response in affected countries, the Commission strengthens capacity

building for health emergency preparedness through training and exchange of best practices

including on stockpiling and joint procurement.

6.3 Citizen’s health preparedness, awareness and engagement

https://health.ec.europa.eu/antimicrobial-resistance/eu-action-antimicrobial-resistance_en#eu-amr-one-health-network

The Union of Skills.

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Preparedness for health threats is a collective responsibility and must have an evidence-based

approach rooted in and supported by science. Understanding citizens’ responses to emergencies

and removing behavioural barriers that can impede responses efficiency is vital. Effective and

inclusive risk and emergency communication and information is critical to building up citizens’

and communities’ trust by increasing awareness, engagement and access to high quality, evidence-

based information. Ensuring the accessibility of emergency communications and information is

essential to ensure that persons with disabilities can request and receive help in emergency

situations.

To restore trust and confidence in medical countermeasures such as vaccines, the EU will develop

blueprints with recommendations for their use in critical situations and rigorously fight mis- and

disinformation by collaborating with online platforms, enhancing digital health literacy

programmes and implement fact-checking mechanisms. In a severe health emergency, the

deliberate spread of misinformation and disinformation – including the coordinated manipulation

and distortion of scientific facts for political or other gains – costs lives and must be firmly

prevented or countered. To support this, the Commission draws on evidence-based insights into

effective risk communication and the factors that may strengthen public resilience against false or

misleading information during emergencies

The Commission will continue to work with the WHO on immunisation and preparedness. The

EU will promote the development of age- and gender-sensitive medical countermeasures, to

respond effectively to different needs and better protect vulnerable groups from health threats. In

particular, the Commission will map the systemic barriers that prevent women and vulnerable

populations from accessing vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, in close collaboration with the

ECDC and the HERA Civil Society Forum. To counter foreign information manipulation and

interference (FIMI), full use should be made of the EU’s FIMI toolbox, the Digital Services Act,

and other relevant tools and legal provisions.

Key actions:

The Commission will:

•

Build new global partnerships in the area of medical countermeasures notably with

EEA

EFTA countries, Canada and global and regional actors like WHO and PAHO

[2025

& 2026]

•

Create a

Medifence initiative

to reinforce preparedness for CBRN and security threats and

strengthen civil-military collaboration. As part of it, develop

a shortlist of essential medical

countermeasures for armed aggression

and facilitate the procurement and stockpiling of

possible

medical countermeasures kits

[2025]

•

Carry out initiatives to enhance digital health literacy, run fact-checking activities and work

together with online platforms to

fight disinformation

and

promote transparency and

scientific-based information

to protect citizens from public health threats.

Joint Research Centre - Competence Centre on Behavioural Insights

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CONCLUSION

The EU's Medical Countermeasures Strategy aims to boost collective resilience, preparedness and

response to keep Europe and the world safe from health threats, irrespective and independently of

the cause or origin of the health emergency.

In a rapidly changing security environment, it is pivotal for the EU and its Member States to

strengthen health preparedness, resilience and response in the area of medical countermeasures,

with a comprehensive end-to-end, One Health approach, from research to deployment. Treating

medical countermeasures as the strategic products they are requires significant investments from

both the public and private sector. These are investments in preparedness and societal resilience,

and in building a safer and healthier Europe for all.