Your postal code might be a better predictor of your health than your genetic code. While we have spent decades decoding the human genome, we have largely ignored the "cocktail effect" and the cumulative effect in time of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we consume, and the social conditions in which we live. Today, the figures are a stark reminder of our current policy failures as chronic diseases represent 86% of deaths in Europe and nearly 80% of healthcare spending1. Yet, scientific consensus confirms that at least 40% of these cases are entirely avoidable2 if we act on upstream determinants like pollution, diet, and social inequalities.
The launch of a new EU Alliance
On 24 February 2026, a new front in this battle was opened with the official launch of the European Exposome Alliance. This initiative, born from a shared conviction between political leaders, the scientific community, civil society, and mutualist actors, seeks to place the exposome at the heart of the European health, research, and prevention agenda. This strategic coalition, initiated by MEP Christophe Clergeau, aims to shift the paradigm of European public health.
As Christophe Clergeau notes: “The exposome is the missing link between our genes and our health. By understanding that how and where you live, how and where you work, and pollution and hazardous products you are exposed to the explosion of modern diseases, we can finally move from a system that merely reacts to illness to one that actively protects life. This approach is essential because current policies often operate in silos. We regulate chemicals, urban planning, and health in separate rooms, ignoring how real-world environmental, occupational, and lifestyle exposures interact across a life course.”
A new approach for a more competitive EU
The added value of the exposome approach is its ability to turn public health challenges into a lever for European competitiveness. A healthy population is the engine of a solid economy, yet the OECD reports that about 97% of health spending in the EU is currently dedicated to treatment, while a mere 3% is spent on prevention3. This imbalance is not sustainable, especially as pollution alone is estimated to cost Europe €106 billion every year and environmental factors are responsible for 20% of cardiovascular diseases.
As Pascal Michard asserts: “Prevention is not just a health issue but a strategic investment in our collective resilience and competitiveness. The cost of inaction is no longer a theoretical risk but a direct threat to our economy and our DNA of solidarity as mutualist insurers. Projections in France indicate that mandatory health spending could rise from 240 billion euros today to 353 billion euros by 2035 if we do not change our model. Shifting toward an exposome-based prevention strategy is the only way to ensure the long-term viability of our social security systems.”
Mutualist insurers tackle the Issue head-on
The mutualist movement intends to throw itself heart and soul into the battle. Aéma Groupe, as a leading mutualist protection group, protects approximately 12 million people, which is one out of every six citizens in France. For mutualist actors, involvement in the Exposome Alliance is a natural extension of their historical mission to protect citizens where public action falls short. Mutuals are not-for-profit, solidarity-based organizations governed by their members, and they act as vital counterweights to the increasing financialization of health.
Mutuals are indispensable because of their deep territorial network and their ability to bridge the gap between high-level scientific research and the daily realities of citizens. While institutional figures often underestimate their role, data shows that when a broad definition of prevention is used, mutuals contribute up to 16% of total prevention spending4. By advocating for the exposome approach, they are fighting against the growing risk of uninsurability.
Béatrice Augier highlights: “Mutualist actors are the link between scientific evidence and the daily lives of the millions of citizens they protect. They are the guardians of a solidarity model which refuses to accept preventable diseases as an inevitability, and which understands that, to protect people tomorrow, we must act on their environment today. This commitment to social progress is at the heart of the mutualist identity, which views health not just as a matter of medical care, but as a fundamental quality of life influenced by the biosphere we all share.”
Time to act
The launch of the EU Exposome Alliance is a wake-up call to EU decision-makers to move from knowledge to action. To achieve this, the Alliance is proposing several key pillars for the future European agenda. First, it calls for the establishment of a Mission Exposome within Horizon Europe, with the necessary funding to track environmental and social exposures across a cohort of 10 million participants. This would position the European Union as a global leader in preventive medicine and public health. Second, the Alliance advocates for a European Exposome Data Space to link health and environmental data securely, providing the evidence-based infrastructure needed for modern prevention. Third, it calls on the European Commission to adopt an ambitious Common Prevention Pillar that integrates health into every policy area. [link to more info]
The day after the 80th anniversary of social security reminds us that our greatest European promise was the promise of dignity and health for all. Today, that promise depends on our ability to look beyond the doctor's office and into the world around us. We must transform our political discourse into concrete measures that make health a priority across all sectors. The time to act is not when a disease appears, but when the exposure begins. We urge all European decision-makers to join us in making the exposome the cornerstone of a protective, sovereign, and healthy Europe for every citizen.
This article is a joint contribution from (left to right):
Pascal Michard, President, Aéma Groupe, Béatrice Augier, President of the Health & Providence Working Group, Aéma Groupe, and MEP Christophe Clergeau (S&D, France)
List of references:
- https://ec.europa.eu/health/newsletter/169/focus_newsletter_en.htm
- https://www.who.int/europe/publications/i/item/WHO-EURO-2025-12445-52219-80271
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https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2017/12/how-much-do-oecd-countries-spend-on-prevention_556706d4/f19e803c-en.pdf
- DREES, “Partial accounts for prevention between 2012 and 2016” - insights on pp. 156-165 in the report of the Health Accounts Commission - 2018 edition
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