Brussels, 28 March 2024
“Check against delivery”
Your Excellency, Ministers, Friends,
Dear Mariya,
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of premature death in the European Union. Every year there are over 6 million new patients and more than 1.8 million deaths. Behind these numbers there is a person. A person with loved ones who are also affected.
The key to tackle this is an effective focus on prevention. We are all signed up to the target under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to reduce premature deaths from non-communicable diseases by one third.
We are working together with Member States to bring Europe closer to this goal. We created an EU initiative on non-communicable diseases called ‘Healthier Together’. It supports Member States in developing policies and other actions on key diseases, including cardiovascular diseases.
We just launched the biggest-ever EU collaborative action on cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, with 53 million Euros from the EU4Health programme. We have also provided around 7 million Euros for stakeholder-led projects on health determinants, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
Lastly, we launched another collaborative action on health determinants, with 73 million Euros in EU funding. This will support Member States in creating ambitious initiatives to improve people’s health.
I am truly pleased that Bulgaria is taking part in this joint action as it will support Bulgaria’s work to reduce smoking rates and improve nutrition and physical activity habits. I also want to acknowledge Bulgaria’s commitment to reducing premature deaths, through its National Programme on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases.
The Commission will continue to support you and other Member States in these efforts. The 2023 State of Health in the EU report highlights how important it is to invest in public health, disease prevention and health systems.
In this regard, the EU has made significant financial support available to Bulgaria and other Member States. And together with the Expert Group on Public Health, we will keep finding ways to support ambition and innovation. Because they help bring us closer to our goal: a more inclusive, sustainable and healthy society.
Thank you for bringing attention to this important topic today. I wish you a very fruitful discussion.