Last night, Heads of State and Government officially adopted the Strategic Agenda 2024-2029, defining Europe’s priorities for the next EU mandate. This is a significant step towards strengthening Europe’s competitiveness on the global stage.

Commenting on the document, EFPIA Director General, Nathalie Moll, said, “We are pleased to see EU leaders aligning on the necessity of a new competitiveness deal and on the importance of health and pharmaceuticals as key sectors for Europe’s future. Over the last decades we have seen an erosion of the R&D base in Europe. After losing its crown to the US as the global leader in pharmaceutical innovation in 2000, Europe is now third behind China in terms of launching new active substances globally. As we begin a new EU mandate, the focus on competitiveness of the Strategic Agenda gives us an opportunity to restore Europe’s leadership in life sciences.”

Earlier this week, we published our call for a Competitiveness Strategy for European Life Sciences. It includes five pillars that can help Europe take a new, coherent approach to its life sciences ecosystem. We share the goals of the Strategic Agenda to reduce regulatory burden to attract investments and increase our region's attractiveness to launch medicines. Over the coming months, we look forward to discussing our vision with EU institutions and working together to build a healthier, more competitive and resilient Europe.