AICRI Co-Lead Signs Joint Letter Calling for a Ring-Fenced EU Health Budget Alongside 490+ Health Leaders
Prof. William Gallagher, Co-Lead of the All-Island Cancer Research Institute (AICRI), has joined more than 490 healthcare professionals, researchers, patient advocates, and organisations in signing a joint open letter calling on European leaders to make health a central priority in the EU's next long-term budget (Multi-annual Financial Framework, 2028 to 2034).
The letter is addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President António Costa, and the governments of EU Member States. It calls for a dedicated and ring-fenced EU health budget, a measure signatories argue is essential to protecting and advancing the health of all Europeans.
The case made in the letter is both human and economic. In 2023 alone, an estimated one million people under the age of 75 died from preventable or treatable conditions across Europe. Evidence from Horizon Europe suggests that every euro invested in health research can generate returns of up to eleven euros. Signatories are calling specifically for health to be ringfenced as its own budget line within the European Competitiveness Fund, and for a dedicated health component within the second pillar of the Horizon Europe proposal.
AICRI joins a growing coalition of health leaders across Europe in calling on EU governments to put health at the heart of the next long-term EU budget, ahead of the European Council meeting on 18 to 19 June 2026.
The letter also responds to a call from the European Parliament, which has backed an allocation of €10.05 billion for health within the next long-term budget.
Prof. Gallagher is a Full Professor of Cancer Biology at UCD School of Biomolecular and Biomedical Science, Conway Fellow, and Deputy Director of Precision Oncology Ireland. A recipient of the SFI Researcher of the Year Award 2021 and multiple innovation awards, he brings a leading voice from the Irish cancer research community to this pan-European call to action.
With the European Council meeting scheduled for 18 to 19 June 2026, the timing of this letter is significant. Signatories are urging Member State governments to reflect these priorities in ongoing budget negotiations.
