He was elected president of the largest committee in the European Parliament, the ENVI (Committee on the Environment, Public Health, and Food Safety), and in just a few weeks in office, he has already engaged in a battle against the cuts planned in the EU budget for health and healthcare. Italian Antonio Decaro (PD- S&D), who served as the mayor of Bari for ten years, arrived in Brussels riding the wave of 500,000 votes that made him the third most voted Italian in the last June elections. In an interview with TrendSanità, he addresses the challenges of his mandate for the first time.
«The themes of the ENVI Committee are clear and aim to meet the ecological transition goals that have already been set at both European and global levels. I’m thinking of actions on climate, the ecological transition for companies, food safety targets, and the development of policies linking environment and health. My approach to the Committee’s work will certainly not be ideological but focused on listening to everyone and sharing the necessary intermediate steps we need to take along this path».
Speaking of which, how do you comment on the EPP initiative from the last legislature that proposed separating the health subcommittee to strengthen work on public health?
«At the moment, it’s a dossier we haven’t addressed yet. As soon as the Committee’s work gets fully underway, we’ll evaluate the next steps, always bearing in mind that, in line with the so-called One Health approach, there is a close interconnection between human, animal, and environmental health».
For the first time, Europe’s response to the pandemic was united and coordinated, demonstrating the importance and need for a strong and timely institution
In one of your first official acts, you explicitly stated that you “strongly regrets the redeployment from the EU4Health programme of 1 billion EUR over the 2025-2027 period and deplore the cuts made by the Council” to various programs dedicated to health, the protection of nature and biodiversity, the circular economy, quality of life, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and the transition to clean energy. What room is there for maneuver, and how do you plan to address this?
«Of course, as the ENVI Committee, we are concerned about the cuts made by the Council to many programs related to environmental and health issues. These budget figures should be restored in order to ensure the achievement of the goals of the European Green Deal. We are therefore calling for an increase in funding through various channels, such as the flexibility instrument, ensuring a strengthened system of the EU’s own resources».
Let’s take a step back: what was it like to lead a community, a city, during the COVID-19 pandemic? What lessons have we learned from it?
«The pandemic left an indelible mark on everyone’s life, not just on those like me, who had the burden of leading a community through the storm. The pandemic taught us that no time is guaranteed and that emergencies can invade our lives at any moment. Therefore, it is necessary to equip territories with tools for prevention and monitoring of such phenomena and invest massively in national healthcare systems. These systems must be trained to handle new epidemiological challenges, which are becoming more frequent in our regions, and be strengthened to counter the spread and contagion of diseases. For the first time, Europe’s response to the pandemic was united and coordinated, demonstrating the importance and need for a strong and timely institution, both in managing the disease and in supporting the recovery of millions of people and businesses».
