Serbia Joins “EU4Health” – EU’s Largest Health Program

December 8, 2025 – The European Union and Serbia have signed an agreement that, from 2026, will grant Serbia’s health sector access to European funds aimed at strengthening medical treatment, digitalisation, and the accessibility of healthcare services.

In Brussels, Serbia’s Minister of Health, Zlatibor Lončar, and European Commissioner for Health and Animal Healthcare, Oliver Varhelyi, signed the agreement. This move officially brings Serbia into the EU4Health program and, as a candidate country, makes it a full participant in the European Union’s largest-ever health initiative, with a total value exceeding €5 billion.

This landmark agreement will give Serbian health authorities and the wider healthcare sector the same access to EU program funding as EU member states, alongside countries including Norway, Iceland, Ukraine, Moldova, Montenegro, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

From 1 January 2026, both public and private healthcare entities in Serbia will be eligible for funding through open calls, direct grants, and joint initiatives. These funding opportunities will focus on key areas such as enhancing the diagnosis, treatment, and care of cardiovascular diseases and cancer, contributing to the European Health Data Space, developing strategies for critical medicines and their reserves, improving mental health, especially among youth, and addressing cross-border health threats.

The EU4Health program was launched in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of enhancing crisis preparedness across the EU. The pandemic exposed the weaknesses of national healthcare systems, and EU4Health aims to strengthen them for the long term, making them more robust, resilient, and accessible.

Health is an investment. Originally allocated a budget of €5.3 billion for 2021–2027, later adjusted to €4.4 billion following the revision of the Multiannual Financial Framework, the EU4Health program provides unmatched financial support from the EU for the healthcare sector. It underscores that public health is a top priority for the European Union and a central tool in the development of a European Health Union.