ECR Member Roberto Ciambetti has been appointed rapporteur on “Building a European Health Union: Reinforcing the EU's resilience for cross-border health threats" during the European Committee of the Regions' Natural Resources (NAT) Commission meeting on 23 November.

Mr Ciambetti, President of the Regional Council of Veneto in Italy, will draw up the CoR's opinion on strengthening the resilience of the EU regarding cross-border health threats as well as increasing coordination between European regions. Commenting on the appointment, Mr Ciambetti said: "As regions we must carry forward Europe's response to the COVID-19 pandemic from the bottom up and work together to better respond to current and future health crises".

He underlined the honor for him to be a CoR rapporteur on the issue of health right now, saying: “the experience of the pandemic shows that by putting together the strengths of the Member States of the EU, we can overcome the weaknesses of individual realities".

He also described health as a “collective civic and societal duty" that involves all citizens. The pillars on which Mr Ciambetti says we must all collectively work include citizens, cities, regions and Member States of the Union “to guarantee new quality healthcare in which no one should be left behind, no one should be left alone".

European Commission President, Ms Ursula von der Leyen, highlighted the need to build a European Health Union in the State of her Union Speech in September as the lessons drawn from the pandemic showed that to fight current and future health emergencies, a reinforced framework of coordination was necessary.

There will be an exchange of views on Mr Ciambetti's opinion on 29 January 2021 in the NAT Commission followed by adoption in March and adoption in plenary in May.