From January to June 2026, Cyprus holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union under the motto ‘An Autonomous Union. Open to the World’.
For people living with allergy, asthma, COPD and atopic eczema, this Presidency can support priorities that protect health and improve daily life across Europe. The programme is framed around strategic autonomy, competitiveness and social cohesion, and these connect directly to the policies that shape prevention, living conditions and health investment.
EFA will use this six-month window to bring patient priorities into the Council files where progress is possible. Below, we highlight where the Cyprus programme creates openings for health and the three policy asks EFA will promote during the Presidency.
What’s in the Cyprus programme and where it connects to health
The Cyprus programme emphasises the EU’s autonomy and readiness in a volatile context, alongside competitiveness and “not leaving anyone behind.” For EFA community of patients, three parts of the agenda stand out:
- The next long-term EU budget, which will determine whether health remains backed by adequate EU-level investment.
- Prevention policy, including how the EU’s cardiovascular agenda is implemented in a way that reflects real-life patient pathways.
- Housing policy, where affordability must go hand-in-hand with conditions that protect health.
EFA’s 3 key policy asks
Ensure investment in health in the negotiations on the next MFF (2028-2034): Currently the EU does not have sufficient funding for health, with health being predicted to lose its own dedicated budget. EFA asks Cyprus to keep health politically visible in Council budget discussions and support a strong, protected EU health envelope.
Make the Safe Hearts agenda work for patients with shared risk factors and comorbidities such as lung diseases. Following the adoption of the proposal for the EU Safe Hearts Plan in December 2025, Cyprus Presidency should work with national governments to promote cardiovascular programmes that take into account respiratory diseases, given the many shared risk factors and symptoms.
Put healthy housing as a top EU-level priority. The Commission presented its first-ever European Affordable Housing Plan in December 2025. For patients with allergy, asthma, COPD and atopic eczema, housing is not only a social issue, but can also be a direct driver of symptoms and flare-ups. We are calling on Cyprus to ensure that Council discussions on housing integrate health as a core outcome, alongside affordability, supply and pay special attention to indoor conditions that worsen chronic diseases.
EFA looks forward to the progress Cyprus will make in health and the environment. We are engaged with the Council’s work and look forward to building new networks and allies in our efforts to put lung and allergy health on the EU’s agenda, paving way for a European Lung Health Plan and EU-targeted action on atopic eczema.