The influence of the European Union on public health practices and policies: vertical and horizontal Europeanization

The influence of the European Union on public health practices and policies: vertical and horizontal Europeanization At a time when State authorities are making an effort to reinvest the field of public health, this article analyzes the impact of the European Union (EU) on public health policies and practices. The author examines public health issues tackled by the Union and highlights two mechanisms through which the EU influences the field. The first mechanism is vertical Europeanization: the EU can use coercive tools to impose European standards to public health actors. The second mechanism is horizontal Europeanization: the EU contributes to the circulation and learning of new public health policies and practices. This article thus demonstrates that the European Union is a key actor in the field of public health, as much as States and infra-State authorities.