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On 27 June, ENSURED researcher Óscar Fernández participated in an EUHealthGov webinar exploring the European Union’s role in managing regime complexity within global health governance. Although traditionally under-examined in European Studies, the EU’s influence in global health has attracted increasing scholarly interest, particularly following the COVID-19 pandemic. This crisis acted as a catalyst for critical reflection on the EU’s evolving engagement with the complex architecture of global health governance.
Recent academic work highlights the EU’s involvement in key multilateral initiatives, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on waiving specific intellectual property rules, and the EU’s strong advocacy for a new pandemic treaty under the World Health Organization (WHO), the content of which was recently finalised. These interconnected efforts are best understood through the lens of regime complexity – a concept describing the dense, overlapping landscape of institutions and actors within a particular policy area.
While existing literature has focused extensively on the constituent bodies of regime complexes, less attention has been paid to how actors like the EU navigate them. Óscar is addressing this gap through, including through his recent ENSURED research report, which explores the conditions under which the EU has actively contributed to increasing regime complexity in global health.
A central focus of the discussion was the trilateral cooperation between the WTO, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the WHO – a hallmark of regime complexity in global health. The EU’s position has shifted over time: from initial hesitation in the 1990s to its current stance as a status quo power, particularly supportive of the WTO. This raises two critical questions: Does the EU actively seek greater regime complexity? And does it benefit from it? The answers help frame the EU's identity and strategy as a global health actor.
Óscar also previewed a forthcoming ENSURED report on the Pandemic Agreement, adopted by the World Health Assembly in April 2025. While the agreement represents a diplomatic achievement for the EU, the report identifies several ongoing challenges: the agreement’s limited ambition, uncertainty around ratifications, and the persistent financial instability of the WHO. These issues cast doubt on whether the agreement meaningfully enhances the EU’s image as a global actor.
Drawing on his ENSURED research, Óscar explained how the EU attempts to shape and leverage regime complexity: a dynamic increasingly central to global governance. The 60-minute webinar, chaired by Dr Mary Guy (Liverpool John Moores University), concluded with a lively Q&A session.
Watch a recording of Oscar's input.
About the Organisers: EUHealthGov is a research network, funded by the University Association for Contemporary Studies (UACES) and the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union, focused on the governance of health in the European Union. This event is part of its quarterly online seminar series, which provides a forum for discussion of a range of EU health governance topics, presented in roundtables, in-conversation sessions, work-in-progress seminars, practitioner perspectives and other formats.
The original event page on the EUHealthGov website is available here.
Photo: Nappy / Unsplash (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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