Rising antimicrobial resistance in Europe: EMA and ECDC outline urgent actions to achieve EU targets

This article shows that the European Union is not on track to meet its 2030 goals to reduce antimicrobial use and curb resistance. Using 2024 surveillance data, the authors find only modest and uneven declines in antimicrobial consumption across Member States, with several countries even showing stagnation or increases. Resistance levels in key pathogens, including E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, also remain persistently high despite years of coordinated EU policies and guidance from EMA, ECDC and national authorities. The paper stresses that current stewardship, surveillance and infection-prevention measures are not sufficient to bend the curve, and calls for stronger enforcement, greater investment in public health capacity, and more harmonised, cross-border action if the EU is to meet its AMR targets by 2030.