EU Legal Pathways for Addressing Health Workforce Crisis

This background paper serves as a technical report detailing the EU's legal competences and potential actions regarding the health workforce crisis. It outlines key findings that indicate the EU's limited legal competences under Article 168 TFEU, which excludes harmonisation but allows for action through other Treaty provisions related to social policy and migration. The report discusses the challenges posed by the uneven distribution of healthcare professionals across EU Member States and the implications of free movement laws on national healthcare systems. It recommends the creation of a new EU Action Plan to address workforce retention, entry, and distribution, suggesting specific measures such as strengthening occupational health laws and adjusting the Professional Qualifications Directive. The authors also analyze various proposals for EU action, emphasizing the need for a coherent framework to align EU law with the urgent requirements of a resilient healthcare workforce. The paper concludes with a call for coordinated approaches across multiple areas of EU competence to effectively tackle the health workforce crisis.