The European Union has an estimated deficit of about 1.2 million healthcare professionals.

Omissions

• The 1.2 million figure is a 2022 estimate (from the 'Health at a Glance: Europe 2024' report), not a current 2025/2026 measurement, so the claim presents an outdated datum as if it were present-day.
• The same evidence base also publishes much larger forward-looking projections (e.g. a WHO-expected shortage of up to 4.1 million healthcare workers in the EU by 2030), which the MEP omits.
• No primary source (Eurostat/ECB/OECD/European Commission database) publishing this exact 1.2 million figure could be retrieved within the search limit; the figure is confirmed via the European Parliament Research Service briefing and independent news reporting that cite the underlying 'Health at a Glance: Europe 2024' report.

Sources

• SecondaryEuropean Parliament Research Service (EPRS) — 'Healthcare in the EU: Addressing urgent labour shortages'The Health at a glance: Europe 2024 report, presented to the Public Health (SANT) Committee on 29 January 2025, estimates a shortage of 1.2 million doctors, nurses and midwives in the EU as of 2022.
• SecondaryEU Perspectives — 'Europe is short of a million health workers. Parliament asks Brussels for money'The World Health Organization (WHO) counted a shortfall of 1.2 million health workers in 2022 in its European region. It expects a gap of almost one million by 2030, as populations age and long-term care needs grow.