Academies: ‘Task force could strengthen EU disease response’

An expert team could advise on coordination of activities including research, medical academies say

The Federation of European Academies of Medicine has lent its support to giving the EU greater powers over health in order to boost Europe’s ability to respond to disease emergencies such as pandemics or medicines shortages. It suggested that an expert task force could be created to identify areas for coordination, including on research.

“The task force could also consider…areas where the EU could lead to stronger coordination with the appropriate funding and political will, including the use of artificial intelligence for large clinical databases and European clinical trials, and the EU’s role in coordinating research and innovation,” Feam said in a statement on 14 May. It suggested the experts could advise on reducing inequalities in research and identifying optimal treatment strategies, for example.