As a member of the EU4Health Civil Society Alliance, IDF Europe is delighted to endorse a joint position paper “Towards meaningful engagement of health civil society organisations in EU public health policymaking” (Read the position paper here).
IDF Europe agrees that meaningful engagement of civil society organisations (CSOs) will strengthen democratic processes by improving participation and representation of citizens’ and professionals’ voices and interests in health (and relevant) policy debates at the European level. It will support the EU in achieving key goals such as promoting health and preventing diseases across all Member States, improving access to affordable healthcare, integrating health systems, reducing health inequalities, protecting public health from commercial interests, and ensuring that no one is left behind.
IDF Europe, alongside all endorsing CSOs, welcomes greater dialogue and establishment of a level playing field for CSOs to participate on equal terms with the other stakeholders involved in the democratic and policy processes at the EU level. Engagement with CSOs should not be mere tokenism, as the people and constituencies we represent have the knowledge and expertise needed to improve the effectiveness of EU health policies and build a strong and resilient European Health Union that leaves no one behind.
