EU health law and policy: shaping a future research agenda

Abstract

The relevance of the European Union (EU) for health has been widely recognised within the health community for some time, and is increasingly apparent to European policy-makers and publics. Despite being an area of policy that national governments would prefer to keep exclusive control of, and though in the past it has rarely been at the top of the agenda, many elements of health have been gradually 'Europeanised'. This special issue marks the culmination of a British Academy-funded project - EU Health Law and Policy: Shaping a Future Research Agenda - which sought to build on the growing web of expertise in this field and reflect upon the future of health as an EU competence, at a time when it appeared to be under threat.

Keywords: European Union; health; health law; health policy.