Commission President von der Leyen 2026 State of the Union address
In the 2026 State of the Union (SOTEU) address, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for the inclusion of AI in health, “in a European way”, and a European Heatwave Plan to ensure early warning systems and better health preparedness.
The European Public Health Association has issued a response, calling for greater action across health promotion, disease prevention, and health-system strengthening, within the Commission's central priorities, arguing that "we need health to be visible in the major choices Europe makes on competitiveness, climate, social policy, security and the future of the single market."
There can be no repeat of this summer. This is why we will also soon present a European Heatwave Plan. We need better early warning systems and better health preparedness. We need urban adaptation and cooling. And we need to support the most vulnerable.
We need AI for health. But, here again, we must do it in a European way... The point is that AI needs to empower our doctors. Not to replace them.
We are now focusing on five of the highest-value sectors in which industrial AI has the biggest potential and we have the data: health, transport, agri-food, advanced manufacturing, and defence and space.
