Scoping One Health Foresight Collaboration among EU Agencies

This working paper constitutes the first deliverable under the EFSA contract RTD/2023/OP/0011 – Lot 1 on Foresight on Demand in Science, Technology, Research and Innovation Policy, implemented within the framework of multi-agency foresight on One Health and authorised by the European Commission, DG Research & Innovation, G1 – Common R&I Strategy and Foresight Service. It examines the relevance of the One Health approach for a broad range of European institutions and agencies and argues that One Health has become an increasingly important framework for addressing the complex and interdependent challenges facing the European Union. These challenges include emerging infectious diseases, antimicrobial and antifungal resistance, environmental pollution, climate change, food insecurity, mental health pressures, and widening social inequalities, all of which cut across traditional sectoral and institutional boundaries. The report situates One Health within its broader conceptual and policy context. It shows that the approach has evolved from earlier biomedical understandings centred on zoonotic disease and veterinary-public health cooperation into a wider framework linking human, animal, plant, and environmental health. In line with the recommendations of the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors, the report adopts the OHHLEP definition of One Health as an integrated and unifying approach aimed at balancing and optimizing the health of humans, animals, plants, and ecosystems. At the same time, it underlines that important ambiguities remain concerning the interpretation, scope, and operationalisation of the concept, especially in the context of European governance. The report therefore not only maps One Health as a thematic field but also examines how it can serve as a practical basis for stronger coordination among EU agencies and institutions. A central finding is that One Health is already relevant to a wide constellation of EU bodies, even if this relevance is not always explicitly recognised or institutionally coordinated. The report highlights the roles of DG SANTE, DG ENV, DG CLIMA, DG AGRI, and the Joint Research Centre, as well as agencies such as EFSA, EMA, ECDC, EEA, ECHA, EUDA, EU-OSHA, Frontex, EIGE, and ETF. These actors contribute complementary expertise across food safety, infectious disease monitoring, environmental protection, chemical safety, medicines regulation, occupational health, social inequalities, and preparedness. The report notes that cooperation has already advanced through initiatives such as the ONE Conference, the cross-agency One Health task force, and joint work on zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance. However, it also finds that collaboration remains uneven, fragmented, and often dependent on issue-specific rather than strategic coordination. Existing efforts show strong potential, but the absence of a fully integrated governance architecture continues to limit the EU’s capacity to translate One Health into a genuinely shared and anticipatory policy framework. On this basis, the report develops a broad and integrated overview of the main scientific themes currently shaping the One Health agenda. These include infectious diseases and health security, veterinary medical products, antimicrobial and antifungal resistance, environmental and climate-related health risks, animal health and welfare, public health and disease prevention, sustainable food systems, inequalities and governance, digitalisation and health, and education and training. A major contribution of the report is that it expands the One Health agenda beyond its more established focus on zoonoses and AMR. It argues that issues such as chemical pollution, microplastics, PFAS, unsafe food systems, occupational health, illicit drugs, mental health, militarization, nuclear risks, and the health implications of geopolitical change must also be considered within a One Health framework because they arise from and reinforce the interdependence of environmental, animal, and human health. The report therefore presents One Health not as a narrow technical field, but as a broader framework for understanding and governing systemic and interacting risks. The report also emphasizes that the One Health perspective is closely aligned with broader EU strategic priorities. It shows that One Health contributes not only to public health protection, but also to goals related to sustainable prosperity, food security, preparedness, climate resilience, social fairness, and democratic legitimacy. In this sense, One Health is framed as a governance approach capable of linking prevention, resilience, and sustainability across domains that are too often treated separately. The report repeatedly stresses that challenges such as climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation, food insecurity, and health inequalities cannot be addressed adequately through isolated policy responses. Rather, they require integrated surveillance, coordinated foresight, and stronger institutional mechanisms capable of connecting evidence, preparedness, and action across sectors and scales. A further important conclusion is that One Health must be treated as both a scientific and institutional innovation agenda. The report identifies the need for stronger inter- and transdisciplinary collaboration, improved data sharing, harmonised surveillance systems, and clearer coordination mechanisms at EU level. It supports the view that the European Union should adopt a more coherent One Health strategy, backed by adequate resources, shared infrastructures, and long-term political support. Education and training are also identified as crucial pillars. One Health concepts should be integrated into academic, professional, and public learning environments, while digital tools, artificial intelligence, and data systems should be developed in line with ethical, inclusive, and sustainable principles. At the same time, the report warns that digitalisation, if poorly governed, may reproduce inequalities, deepen data divides, and generate new environmental burdens. In its final section, the report moves from thematic mapping to strategic foresight. It identifies a series of emerging and cross-cutting areas that merit particular attention in future collaboration. These include cross-border health threats and joint preparedness, chemicals and environmental exposures, illicit drugs and their environmental and social dimensions, climate change and health inequalities, social determinants of health, mental health, digitalisation, and militarization. Across all these areas, the report underscores the need for strengthened multi-agency collaboration and more systematic data sharing. It argues that the EU already possesses many of the institutional building blocks required for a stronger One Health approach, but that these assets need to be connected more effectively through coordinated foresight, shared analytical tools, and common strategic priorities. Overall, the report presents One Health as a necessary and forward-looking framework for European governance. It shows that the health of people, animals, plants, and ecosystems is increasingly shaped by interconnected pressures that no single institution, sector, or Member State can manage alone. By embedding One Health more firmly in research agendas, legislative initiatives, surveillance systems, education, and inter-agency cooperation, the European Union can improve its capacity to anticipate and respond to multidimensional threats while also advancing sustainability, equity, and resilience. In this sense, One Health is not merely a conceptual lens, but a practical foundation for future European collaboration in science, regulation, and strategic policy development.