Mr Rafael Benitez, Director of Social Rights, Health and Environment
Health is our most precious asset. More fundamentally, it is a human right.
Today, however, health has also become a geopolitical asset. The quality, safety and resilience of our health systems are no longer simply public policy objectives—they have become strategic capabilities that underpin Europe’s security, competitiveness, sovereignty and global influence.
Recent crises have exposed structural vulnerabilities across Europe: shortages of essential medicines, dependencies on external suppliers for active pharmaceutical ingredients, fragile global supply chains, and intensifying competition in biotechnology and life sciences. Europe is right to respond through initiatives such as the Pharmaceutical Package, the proposed Critical Medicines Act and discussions on a future European Biotech Act. These are not merely regulatory reforms—they are strategic choices that will shape Europe’s position in the global health landscape.
The Council of Europe fully shares this ambition. But our contribution is complementary and distinctive.
Looking across our 46 member States, we see that health security cannot be reduced to industrial capacity or strategic autonomy alone. Health threats do not stop at the external borders of the European Union, and neither should cooperation. True resilience depends not only on innovation and competitiveness, but also on respect for human rights, democratic governance, the rule of law and public trust.
These are not competing priorities. They are mutually reinforcing.
Building on the European Convention on Human Rights, the European Social Charter—notably Article 11—and our specialised conventions, the Council of Europe reaffirmed at its Conference on Health Protection in October 2025 that health protection is both a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of democracy, social justice and societal resilience.
Important challenges nevertheless remain.
Ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare and medicines remains a reality yet to be achieved for many people, particularly those in vulnerable situations. Demographic change is increasing pressure on health systems. Digital transformation offers tremendous opportunities but also raises new ethical and legal challenges. Conflicts and humanitarian crises continue to disrupt healthcare. At the same time, misinformation and disinformation are fuelling a profound crisis of trust in science, institutions and democratic governance.
In this context, securing health is a shared responsibility. It requires political leadership, cross-sectoral cooperation and solutions firmly anchored in human rights.
The Council of Europe contributes along several complementary lines.
First, we strengthen the implementation of binding legal standards.
Alongside the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Social Charter, this includes the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, the Santiago Convention against Trafficking in Human Organs and the MEDICRIME Convention against the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes threatening public health.
These legal instruments are complemented by scientific and technical cooperation that enables the early detection of falsified medicines, strengthens market surveillance, supports law enforcement authorities and promotes international cooperation through harmonised quality standards, shared databases and laboratory networks spanning more than forty countries. Such cooperation is equally important in strengthening the resilience of pharmaceutical supply chains, including for active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Second, we safeguard patients’ rights, quality and safety.
Recent shortages of antibiotics, paediatric medicines and diabetes treatments have demonstrated how vulnerable our health systems remain. The Council of Europe supports national authorities and healthcare professionals by identifying medicines at risk of shortages, providing practical guidance for pharmacists preparing essential medicines when shortages occur, and facilitating accelerated scientific assessments for active substances affected by supply disruptions.
Third, we promote equitable, affordable and inclusive healthcare.
Universal access to healthcare is a human right. Yet this right cannot be fully exercised without health literacy. Nearly half of Europe’s population has limited health literacy, resulting in poorer health outcomes and significant economic costs for healthcare systems. This issue will be at the heart of a High-Level Conference to be held in Rome on 4 December 2026, where member States will adopt a declaration setting a roadmap for future action.
Fourth, we support ethical and transparent governance of biomedical innovation and digital health.
Recent experience has demonstrated that, while medicines can be stockpiled, innovation cannot. Europe must preserve its capacity to innovate continuously—from research and clinical trials to regulation, manufacturing and access to patients. But innovation will only succeed sustainably if it is trusted. Trust requires transparency, accountability, robust ethical safeguards and respect for human rights. These are not obstacles to innovation; they are conditions for its success.
Across all these activities, two cross-cutting priorities remain essential: promoting gender equality—including in clinical research—and protecting children’s rights, while integrating environmental and climate considerations into health policies.
Allow me to conclude with one final reflection.
Health security is indeed a geopolitical asset.
Europe must strengthen pharmaceutical resilience. It must secure critical supply chains. It must remain a global leader in biomedical innovation and life sciences.
But if health security is viewed solely through the lens of competitiveness or strategic autonomy, we risk overlooking one of its most valuable assets.
The COVID-19 pandemic taught us that even the most advanced health systems cannot succeed without public trust.
Trust in science.
Trust in institutions.
Trust that innovation serves people and respects their dignity.
Respect for human rights is therefore not simply an international legal obligation. It is a strategic enabler of resilient health systems, sustainable innovation and effective health security.
Across the Council of Europe’s 46 member States, our common strength lies not only in scientific excellence or industrial capacity, but in our shared commitment to human rights, democracy and the rule of law.
These are Europe’s enduring competitive advantages.
If Europe succeeds in combining innovation with ethics, competitiveness with solidarity, and security with human rights, it will not only remain a global leader in health—it will lead by example.
Thank you.