Pandemic influenza in the UK and EU competence in health security policy

The European Commission’s competence in health security has grown incrementally and this article documents these developments. It highlights that the 2009 influenza pandemic in the UK can be described as a critical juncture in that it led to the establishment of a formal EU Health Security Committee and further legislative changes. Although cross-EU cooperation for health threats makes sense within a borderless territory, the increasing ‘Europeanisation’ of health security functions is not without its policy challenges, which largely stem from the risk of national policy-makers being protectionist around the sharing of information on data and preparedness planning for health security threats.