The European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (SANT) voted on 14 July 2026 to approve the provisional agreement on the Critical Medicines Act, following the final trilogue on 11 May. Rapporteur Tomislav Sokol (EPP) hailed the deal as a win for patients and industry, stressing the shift beyond lowest-price procurement, collaborative joint procurement to help smaller markets, and inclusion of orphan medicines. The vote passed without recorded opposition.
The committee then debated the draft opinion on the 2027 EU budget. Rapporteur Michalis Hadjipantela (EPP) called for public health to be a priority, warning that EU4Health commitments fall from €661 million in 2026 to €606 million in 2027, a 7.6% cut. Victor Negrescu (S&D) echoed concerns, pledging amendments to reinforce EU4Health and support patient organisations. Marie-Luce Brasier-Clain (PfE) pushed back against creating a new rare-disease agency, arguing for using existing instruments. Andreas Glück (Renew, speaking for Vlad Voiculescu) proposed amendments on rare diseases, sexual and reproductive health, health workforce, and medical evacuations. Vytenis Andriukaitis (S&D) warned the cuts send a wrong signal to member states. Valentina Palmisano (The Left) opposed progressive privatisation of health systems and called for better working conditions. Gerald Hauser (PfE) argued €635 million is sufficient if spent wisely on patients and combating staff shortages. Ondřej Dostál (EPP) supported maintaining investment, citing the Critical Medicines Act. Ignazio Marino (Greens-EFA) stressed reducing health inequalities and investing in the health workforce. The deadline for amendments is 15 July.
The committee then considered the draft report on the Medical Devices Regulation. Rapporteur Oliver Schenk (EPP) outlined six priorities: obligatory timelines, risk-based approach, solutions for breakthrough/niche products, reducing red tape, helping SMEs, and sector-specific AI regulation. Tiemo Wölken (S&D) welcomed simplification but pushed for stronger clinical evidence requirements and criticised the Commission's approach to AI in medical devices as insufficient.
Affected stakeholders include patients, SMEs in medtech, health professionals, national health systems, and pharmaceutical and medical device industries.