The value of health: Investing in Europe’s future
As negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) begin, European budgets face a turning point. Geopolitical and geoeconomic challenge are pushing the EU to prioritise security spending and competitiveness. While this is often framed as a necessary trade-off, improving the effectiveness and fiscal sustainability of EU healthcare systems can deliver much-needed economic growth and boost workforce productivity – including in the defence sector. Moreover, investing in healthier populations can generate significant savings by reducing treatment complexity, shortening hospital stays and lowering staffing needs.
The urgency of health system reform will only increase as Europe’s working-age population shrinks and the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) rises. Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death in the EU, accounting for over 1.7 million deaths and costing the economy up to €282 billion annually. The burden of cancer, a condition closely linked to ageing, is also growing rapidly. Cancer is set to overtake cardiovascular conditions as the leading cause of death in the EU by 2035, while globally new cases are projected to reach 35 million by 2050, a 77% increase from 2022
Recent years have seen continued breakthroughs in disruptive technologies. One 2022 study found that up to two-thirds of life expectancy gains in high-income countries may be linked to pharmaceutical innovation. Realising the full potential of advanced therapies, however, demands a shift in policymaking mindsets, alongside structural reforms in healthcare system governance. This requires adopting an investment- and value-based approach – with new payment models, greater efficiency and stronger prevention strategies – and overcoming entrenched budgetary silos.
Based on an analysis of available evidence, this policy brief identifies levers for a more sustainable and integrated approach to EU health policy coordination. At its core are prevention and a more holistic vision of the value of health – for individual wellbeing, societal resilience and long-term fiscal sustainability. Amid rising uncertainty and geopolitical tension, healthcare must move back up the political agenda, as it did during the Covid-19 pandemic. It should be treated not as a cost, but as a strategic investment in Europe’s future, with funding to match population needs.
Read the full policy brief here.
Elizabeth Kuiper is Associate Director and Head of the Health and Societal Resilience Programme (HSR).
Samuel Goodger is Policy Analyst in the Health and Societal Resilience Programme (HSR).
This Policy Brief is part of the EPC’s Value of Health project, and follows an expert Round Table held in November 2025. The Value of Health project is financially supported by the Coalition on Health, Ethics and Society, led by Johnson & Johnson; and by MSD.
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