Executive Vice-President Raffaele Fitto, in a written answer on 19 June 2026, outlined how EU cohesion policy and other instruments can support primary health and emergency pre-hospital care infrastructure in the mountainous Acheloos Valley of Greece, emphasising that Member States retain responsibility for organising health services while the EU provides funding and technical assistance.
The answer responds to a parliamentary question from S&D MEP Sakis Arnaoutoglou, who had highlighted the remote area's difficulties in accessing healthcare and the risk of demographic decline. Fitto noted that Greece's 2021-2027 Cohesion Policy programmes allocate some EUR 327 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and EUR 240 million from the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) for healthcare. Specifically, for the Acheloos Valley, four regional programmes (Thessalia, Dytiki Ellada, Ipeiros, and Sterea Ellada) have earmarked around EUR 64 million under ERDF for building and upgrading health centres and essential infrastructure. Additionally, the Common Agricultural Policy's Leader programme and the Recovery and Resilience Facility also fund rural health services.
Fitto pointed to the upcoming Right to Stay Strategy, which will address demographic challenges and include actions to improve access to basic health services. He stressed that under Article 168(7) TFEU, Member States are responsible for organising and delivering health services, while the EU supports them with technical assistance and funding. The European Semester process also addresses healthcare accessibility challenges. On eligibility, Fitto confirmed that the Cohesion Policy 2021-2027 regulatory framework allows investment in creating or modernising health infrastructure to reduce territorial disparities, with Member States selecting operations under shared management, provided they align with the national strategic policy framework for health.
The answer is largely declarative, reiterating existing funding possibilities without announcing new specific commitments or numerical targets for the Acheloos Valley. It signals that any concrete project would depend on Greek authorities proposing and selecting operations under the existing programmes. The policy orientation is supportive of using EU funds to address territorial disparities in healthcare access, but leaves implementation to national and regional bodies. Institutional follow-up is expected through the Right to Stay Strategy, which may include further measures on health access, though no timeline was given.