Abstract
This article examines the possibilities for negotiating the UK–EU health-security relationship after 2020. Health security, in the sense of measures to prevent and mitigate health emergencies, had played a marginal role in the UK–EU negotiations, but COVID-19 has greatly amplified this policy area’s significance. At the beginning of the pandemic, Brussels introduced significant measures to promote public health sovereignty, notably joint procurement and stockpiling of personal protective equipment. The UK went against the grain by limiting its involvement in joint procurement at a time when other countries were rushing to participate. UK participation in some EU health measures is possible on existing terms, but not joint procurement. This leaves the UK facing an uncertain future because of the potential risks associated with not participating in EU programmes, notably in terms of access to personal protective equipment supplies and possible market distortion resulting from new EU policies promoting stockpiling and reshoring. The politicisation of health security thus adds another complication to the post-Brexit EU–UK relationship.
Highlights
The EU has traditionally had very limited involvement in public health policy, with only supporting competences in what is a highly complex policy area where member states typically preferred maximum autonomy (Greer et al 2019)
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly amplified the significance of health security in a way that fundamentally intersects with policy priorities in the UK and the EU27
The Political Declaration on the future UK–EU relationship agreed by the European Council in October 2019, which concluded the first phase of Brexit, mentioned health security
Summary
The EU has traditionally had very limited involvement in public health policy, with only supporting competences in what is a highly complex policy area where member states typically preferred maximum autonomy (Greer et al 2019). This article explores the way health security—in the sense of measures to prevent and mitigate health emergencies such as pandemics—is destined to be an important and fraught dimension of the UK–EU relationship in the coming years. This is because the UK’s desire to regain control of policymaking is fundamentally at odds with the EU’s cooperative and increasingly solidaristic approach to health security. The Political Declaration on the future UK–EU relationship agreed by the European Council in October 2019, which concluded the first phase of Brexit, mentioned health security It stated that ‘the Parties should cooperate in matters of health security in line with existing Union arrangements with third countries. The true effect of EU withdrawal on health security in the UK will only be revealed after 2020, at which point policymakers on both sides will need to be prepared for tough decisions
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