As the European Union prepares to adopt its new long-term financial framework, the role of health policy is undergoing a fundamental shift. The proposal for the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2028–2034 shows that health will no longer be represented through a standalone, clearly defined budget. European health networks warn that although health appears in various programmes, it no longer features as a strategic pillar with earmarked financial protection.

This new budget architecture carries significant risks: without a clearly defined and protected place for health, it may lose political visibility and strategic priority. At the same time, it may open opportunities – for example, to integrate health more deeply into research, regional development, digitalisation, or climate policy. These shifts make Health in All Policies (HiAP) more crucial than ever: health impacts must be systematically assessed across all EU policy fields to ensure population health remains safeguarded at the core of European policymaking. But how can we assure these connections between health and other policy areas were seen when not explicitly mentioned in funding schemes like the MFF?

Questions to be discussed:

• What does this new MFF structure mean for Public Health and the National Public Health Institutes in Europe?
• What does this new MFF structure mean especially for Joint Actions in Public Health? How to follow the EU Beating Cancer Plan, Safe Heart Plan and other plans without dedicated health budgets?
• Is there a way to make Public Health more visible in the MFF at this stage? What are our options as National Public Health Institutes?
• Following the Health in All Policies Approach, Health may be addressed within other policy fields, but how can we bring this argument forward in the EC and within our countries?