Plaid Cymru pledges closer European ties to boost NHS

Plaid Cymru has pledged to pursue closer ties with Europe in a bid to raise standards in the Welsh NHS.

In a speech to The Scotland Forum 2025 today (2 September), Plaid’s health spokesperson Mabon ap Gwynfor MS outlined a range of policies that he said would strengthen Wales’s health service through European cooperation.

The policies would be developed from Plaid’s proposed European Alignment Bill, unveiled earlier this year by Adam Price MS.

The bill seeks to ensure Wales keeps pace with European standards in devolved areas, including healthcare.

Proposals outlined in today’s speech include:

A bespoke Health Protection Agreement with the EU to cut red tape on healthcare trade and improve cooperation on pandemic preparedness and emerging technologies.

A redesigned Agile Cymru programme with a sharper focus on health economics and learning from international models.

Aligning Wales with the EU4Health programme, which aims to build more resilient and accessible health systems.

Signing up to the European Code of Cancer Practice, ensuring Welsh patients meet EU standards for cancer care.

Reforming Wales’s digital and data infrastructure, drawing on innovations such as Estonia’s Smart Care App while maintaining GDPR-level protections.

Seeking associate membership of the EU Critical Medicines Alliance to strengthen drug supply chains and reduce shortages.

‘Overstretched staff’

Mr ap Gwynfor told delegates that the NHS in Wales was “under immense pressure” with rising demand, overstretched staff and long waiting lists. These challenges, he said, were not unique to Wales – but the UK’s departure from the EU had made cross-border solutions harder.

“Brexit has not only created barriers to trade and research – it has erected obstacles to the free exchange of ideas, resources, and expertise,” he said. “In healthcare, that is not an inconvenience – it is a serious risk.”

He argued that European cooperation could help Wales avoid “reinventing the wheel” by learning from countries with proven models, such as Sweden’s new care approaches, Denmark’s workforce retention strategies and Estonia’s digital health systems.

“A Plaid Cymru Government would not drift further into isolation,” he said. “We would seize the opportunity to lead, to innovate, and to ensure people in Wales have access to the best healthcare Europe can offer.”