The COVID-19 pandemic has generated unprecedented impacts to the EU and its Member States，highlighting the importance of EU health policy. Decision No 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border threats to health is the legal mechanism for EU’s actions on health emergencies，which stresses the importance of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the Health Security Committee. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism and Integrated Political Crises Response Mechanism are also important EU instruments for responding to serious cross-border health threats. Since the COVID-19 outbreak，the EU has been paying close attention to the development of the pandemic，and has taken multiple measures based on the response mechanisms to cross-border health threats，to fight against the pandemic. The spread of COVID-19 across Europe reflects the challenges of EU’s response to the pandemic.