The Directorate-General for Health and Consumers 1999-2014: An assessment of its functional capacities.

•DG SANCO’ s capacities for policy making regarding public health and health systems have improved over time.•DG SANCO’s capacities to assess a situation, set the agenda and decide on a concrete policy are to some extent established.•Capacities for implementation and evaluation are less developed.•Setting priorities for a limited number of policies within DG SANTE’s remit is recommended.