During her mandate, Kyriakides launched a European cancer plan and proposed an overhaul of the rules of the bloc’s pharmaceutical legislation. But her term was largely overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in a cascade of legislation to beef up Europe’s disease surveillance and pandemic preparedness.

In public health, her unit faced criticism from some NGOs for delaying new rules on smoking, which have still not landed.

Kyriakides’ return to Cyprus ups the chances for two others — if they can leap some significant hurdles first: Malta’s former Health Minister…