The European Union (EU)'s leadership has played a key role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic globally through the Team Europe approach, with the EU and Member States (MS) acting within their respective competences. In the context of the implementation of the new EU Global Health Strategy, better coordination to strengthen this leadership and its visibility is essential to maximize the collective impact of such EU contributions to global health and to shape a new global health order based on our fundamental values.
The objective of the European joint action JA GHI is to strengthen this EU leadership by putting in place rolling mechanisms for closer coordination and synergies between the EU institutions and its MS, which will at the same time respect respective competences and facilitate EU decision-making process through established statutory channels. To that end, a dynamic mapping mechanism of key measures and funding of both the EU and its MS will be established so as to better identify, coordinate and monitor ongoing actions in relation to the EU Global Health Strategy priorities, as well as to ensure optimal synergy with national strategies. Likewise, JA GHI will facilitate information and intelligence sharing between the EU and MS in global health fora (e.g., Brussels, MS capitals, Geneva and New York), proposing improvements to the existing coordination platforms and optimizing IT tools for upstream support to key decisions, ensuring EU speaks from a single voice. A comprehensive communication plan will be developed to strengthen its external communication so that the contributions of the EU and its Member States to global health are well acknowledged and understood. The Team Europe approach will be promoted as a brand for EU action in global health. Finally, a Member States' suggestions forum will be organised to anticipate and discuss important topics to support the EU positioning on such topics ahead of key GH meetings (WHO, G7, G20, etc.)