LEAK: Spain to ask member states for medical aid with Gaza patients

Spain will urge EU health ministers to support the transfer of patients in need of urgent medical care from Gaza to EU countries willing to offer their healthcare services, according to a leaked document seen by Euractiv.

The proposal will be introduced by Spain on Tuesday (18 June) as an agenda point (AOB) of the next meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO), set for 21-22 June.

It comes after the announcement on X by Israel Defense Forces yesterday that they would halt military activity in southern Gaza from 8am to 7pm every day “until further notice” to allow humanitarian aid, a move that has already been criticised by President Benjamin Netanyahu.

The transfer would be organised by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), the EU’s Civil Protection Mechanism, which provides assistance to countries facing a major crisis, regardless of whether they are in or outside the EU.

The proposal follows the announcement by Spanish Prime minister Pedro Sanchez on 3 June that Spain will receive 29 Palestinian children with cancer or severe trauma as a result of the ongoing crisis.

The latest Spanish proposal is the continuation of a previous appeal made by Belgium at the EPSCO meeting of 30 November 2023, urging for a common approach to organising medical evacuations of wounded patients out of Gaza.

Back then, ten EU member states – including France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, and Portugal – supported Belgium.

For the moment, there is no confirmation on which member states could support the Spanish proposal.

Tobacco, HIV

Other AOB points expected to be added to the agenda of the Council meeting include two proposals on new tobacco forms and its impact on children, by Latvia and Denmark, one point on HIV to be presented by Romania, and one on medical stockpiling.

Official points in the agenda include the incentives cluster of the pharmaceutical package, vaccine-preventable cancers, and the approval of the conclusions on the future of the European Health Union.

The EPSCO meeting of 21-22 June is the final meeting before Belgium passes the baton to Hungary, which will preside over the Council of the EU until 31 December.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]

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