INTRODUCTION:
COVID-19 triggered reflection on global health governance within the European Union (EU), particularly regarding the need for stronger coordination across institutions and Member States. In response, the EU revised its Global Health Strategy, with some Member States either updating existing national strategies or adopting new ones where none existed. This study examines the relationship between five national Global Health Strategies and the EU Global Health Strategy, identifying patterns of convergence and divergence and their potential to support the EU strategy through synergies and coordination.

METHODS:
A qualitative comparative analysis of Global Health Strategies was conducted, focusing on priorities, governance models, implementation plans, and monitoring mechanisms. Methods include Python-coded systematic text analysis to examine word frequency and thematic emphasis, directed qualitative content analysis to identify convergences and divergences, semi-structured interviews with officials from health and foreign affairs ministries, and SWOT and TOWS analyses.

RESULTS:
All five national Global Health Strategies align with the EU Global Health Strategy on shared global health priorities and foundational principles. However, approaches to synergy and coordination are largely internally focused. Although the importance of European-level coordination is acknowledged, none of the national strategies specify concrete mechanisms for joint action. Instead, emphasis is placed on shaping governance, implementation, and evaluation to reflect domestic expertise and practice.

CONCLUSIONS:
While existing national Global Health Strategies do align with the priorities of the EU Global Health Strategy, they remain primarily domestically anchored in their governance and implementation. As more Member States consider developing national strategies, comparative analysis of existing approaches can help future strategies integrate more effectively into the European global health ecosystem by identifying complementarities and opportunities for mutual reinforcement. Building EU-level coordination on existing national networks could enable European actors to work collectively while preserving political autonomy, supporting more sustainable and coherent European engagement in global health.