Socialist MEP Marta Temido today lamented that the President of the European Commission did not pursue concrete objectives on health issues and the cost of living in her speech on the State of the Union.
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16/09/2026
by
Lusa
ANDalthough she admitted that Ursula Von der Leyen’s speech had “interesting and positive” aspects, Marta Temido pointed out, in statements to journalists in Strasbourg, France, that there were no issues that directly concern citizens.
“ The issue of health is a priority and a competence in which the European Union has a limited role, but it still has a role and is today one of the major concerns of Europeans. And so we have to do more”, he said, pointing out the need to have an agenda for the prevention and protection of Europeans in relation to a set of aspects “such as alcohol, tobacco, trans fats”.
For the former Minister for Health (PS) of Portugal, “the commitment to the European Health Agenda, which was made, moreover, in a state of the Union a few years ago to this part, gave way to other priorities”.
And while other crises have arisen, the health crisis remains, he said, advancing that MEPs will discuss on Thursday a report on the responses that the European Union can give to the health workforce crisis.
“ We hope that the President [of the European Commission], with the sensitivity we know of her on these issues, for her journey, for her training, will not forget this theme”, she said.
On the other hand, the MEP noted the absence of a “concrete response to what is now the top priority for many Portuguese, for many Europeans, which is the increase in cost of living” and, in particular, housing costs.
Marta Temido praised, however, Ursula Von der Leyen's recognition of the need for more investment in the European Union, coordination to tackle climate change and advancement in the protection of minors by proposing a ban on access to social networks for children under the age of 13 and having personal accounts for young people under the age of 15.