Slovak European election candidates split on EU’s health role [Advocacy Lab Content]

As Slovakia edges towards the European elections, candidates are split on the EU’s role in health but agree on the importance of the EU’s increased strategic autonomy.

Euractiv contacted the country’s political parties to assess their stance on important health issues. The majority of parties had suspended their campaigns following the assassination attempt on Prime Minster Fico, but with Fico now back home from hospital, campaigning is in full swing.

Based on recent polling data, Euractiv contacted all political parties with the potential to meet the 5% threshold required to win seats in the European Parliament. Of these, Progressive Slovakia (Renew), Christian Democratic Party (EPP), Freedom and Solidarity (ECR), and Slovak National Party (ID) answered our questions.

The coalition party of PM Fico, Smer-SD, did not respond to Euractiv’s questions.

With these elections, Slovakia’s number of MEPs will increase from 14 to 15 seats. The list of candidates includes 26 out of 150 current national MPs, two ministers, and nine MEPs seeking re-election, as Slovakia votes exclusively on June 8th.

Strategic autonomy in healthcare

Progressive Slovakia’s position reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic and the aftereffects of stalled foreign outsourced production.

Krisztián Váradi, the MEP candidate with Progressive Slovakia, told Euractiv: “The healthcare workers themselves did not have sufficient means of protection. As a doctor, I have personally seen countless times that we have had medication shortages. We often had no idea why and when those medicines would be available again. We, therefore, believe that we can improve our healthcare security by strengthening our own production in the EU.”

MEP Miriam Lexmann (Christian Democratic Party KDH) agrees, highlighting that the EU should have already started working on its strategic autonomy a long time ago, with special attention to reducing its dependence on authoritarian regimes like China.

“Their unreliability was clearly demonstrated at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic when we very soon realised that our dependency on health materials not only caused huge difficulties in the pandemic management but ultimately also cost lives,” she said.

MP Jana Bittó Cigániková (Freedom and Solidarity/ECR) was resolute on strategic autonomy, “(…) but unfortunately, we are moving in the opposite direction,” she said.

Slovak National Party (ID) candidate Zdenko Čambal is fundamentally against the expansion of corporate interests into healthcare and thinks that health cannot be the subject of business, as was the case with the pandemic.

Čambal explained: “The procurement of tests and the support for a selected vaccine revealed the character of individuals and politicians who participated in this business. The interest of the EU and direct support for the Pfizer brand were not ethical, considering the existence of drugs from the AstraZeneca and Moderna brands.”

EU role, a point of contention

According to Progressive Slovakia, the EU must take on a greater coordinating role in the healthcare sector. The EU should try to motivate the member states to continuously improve their healthcare systems and implement new standards in their laws and practices.

“The training and proper compensation of healthcare workers should be a major focus. There are substantial labour market outflows to other member states that could be addressed more effectively centrally. It is our vision that each European citizen shall be treated properly and with dignity wherever he or she lives. We recognise quality healthcare as a basic human right,” Váradi remarked.

MEP Lexmann said: “Although healthcare policies are the exclusive competencies of the member states, the EU can also help coordinate actions among the member states, help create research and innovation-friendly environment, or run programmes like EU4Health. My long-standing view is clear.”

Lexmann argues that the EU should concentrate its energy on policy areas where, in line with its competencies, it can bring real added value to Europe’s citizens.

MP Bittó Cigániková thinks that the decisions about healthcare policy should remain at the level of individual states because each state has different capabilities and a different spectrum of problems.

“Where we should coordinate with EU countries is in reducing unnecessarily demanding requirements for non-medical healthcare personnel, particularly in education. For example, to reduce the number of study hours for nurses,” she explained.

Additionally, she perceives that more coordination is necessary to ensure the observance of basic human rights in procedures that are already permitted in individual union countries.

“I am referring to the medicated form of abortion,” said Cigániková, “It is unacceptable to provide a legal procedure in a way that unnecessarily risks the health of women and their future children just because a part of the political spectrum believes that abortion should not be legal.”

Cigániková added: “They want to punish women for their decisions by only allowing the outdated procedure, even though we have less risky, gentler, and cheaper alternatives.”

Candidate Čambal spoke about the Slovakian mentality towards Europe: “When it comes to adhering to the rules, we tend to show much more resistance and assert our own opinions. Thinking nationally and feeling socially does not mean waving a flag. Let’s try to rely on the strong and cooperate. Let’s not undermine the EU or the WHO. Otherwise, we might end up prescribing aspirin indefinitely for certain diagnoses,” Čambal said.

[By Filip Áč, Edited by Vasiliki Angouridi, Brian Maguire | Euractiv’s Advocacy Lab]

Read more with Euractiv