The European Union is intensifying the fight against antibiotic resistance. On June 13th, the EU Council adopted a recommendation that focuses the attention of EU institutions and individual member states on a more careful use of antimicrobials in all sectors of human healthcare, animal healthcare, and the environment. This is directly related to the common European objective of increasing cooperation in surveillance and monitoring of infections, as well as in the innovation and availability of increasingly efficient antimicrobials.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has set a target at the European Community level to reduce antibiotic consumption by 20% by 2030. This measure will contribute to more effective use of antibiotics in humans. Essentially, the principle of using the right antibiotic, only when necessary, is being promoted to achieve a substantial reduction in infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The goal will be pursued mainly in hospital facilities, but the spread of the good practice of not abusing antibiotic drugs is a concept that EU organizations have been emphasizing for some time now. Therefore, the European Commission has welcomed “with satisfaction the adoption by the EU Council of the proposal to enhance action against antimicrobial resistance”.
The recommendation effectively contributes to tackling this problem by following the so-called ‘One Health’ approach: a methodology that considers global health as important as individual health and, therefore, aims to address issues through interdisciplinary collaborations. In this regard, the recommended EU-level objectives, translated by individual countries at the national level, will enable the entire Union to fight the issue of so-called resistant superbacteria. A Commission note states: “Taking into account national specificities, without compromising the health and safety of patients, the individual measures that will be adopted will also allow better monitoring of infections and antibiotic consumption in the coming years and accordingly calibrate policy development”.
In the same recommendation adopted by the EU Council, member states are also urged to include this topic in the framework agreement on pandemic management, which is currently under negotiation. The Council also calls on G7 and G20 countries to keep antimicrobial resistance high on their respective work agendas.