In mid-September, during the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivered her State of the Union address (SOTEU). Reflecting on the key health takeaways from the SOTEU speech, MEP Peter Agius (EPP, Malta) said:
“As a Maltese member, present and active in the SANT Committee and the Health Committee in the European Parliament, I was particularly interested in von der Leyen’s announcement that we should be using AI much more intensively and intelligently in the health sector.
She insisted, for instance, that AI should empower doctors, not replace them. I think this is a fundamental distinction to be drawn.
We are living in a time when AI is taking over many aspects of our lives. But people still ask: is this something I can trust?”
He believes AI has great potential for innovators, although questions of trust remain. For him, the answer is not to remove the human element, but to combine it with the power of AI.
“If AI is harnessed and used alongside the power of the human element, then it can be a true revolution. I think there is a lot of progress happening elsewhere, on other continents as well. And we must not fall behind. There are also AI applications available to doctors in Europe which are mainly based outside the EU,” he says.
He suggests that we “put our money where our mouth is” and, in the context of the AI revolution, ensure that it is applicable and useful for patients as well.
In the context of ‘Buy European’, he believes there is a strong emphasis on prioritising European health innovation.
P. Agius says: “If you see the Critical Medicines Act, if you see the Pharmacovigilance package, there is a lot of ‘Buy European’ emphasis. We fund European pharmaceutical research and medicine research. But we also want these companies to invest in Europe and develop their products in Europe. So, there is a lot of this already on the table.”
He also mentions the Industrial Accelerator Act, which is currently being negotiated across different EP committees. The Act is also pushing the idea of ‘Buy European’ on a wider scale.
“I think Europe is really the hub – a world hub – for the development of pharmaceuticals, for the development of medicine and innovation. And we must make sure that we are intelligent enough to ensure that our investments reach the patients. This is something which is very dear to me also as a Maltese,” he stresses.
He also says that he has raised the issue in the SANT Committee, pointing out that medicines can take three to five years to reach Malta, even though they are already commonly available in countries such as France or Germany.
Talking about the need for budget investment in health, he says:
“But we also want to make sure that these investments are used and reach the patient, with more cures and more innovative medicines.”
