Welcome to the April 2004 edition of the EPHA Newsletter,
The European landscape is experiencing rapid change.
More than a decade of political expectation and administrative preparation comes to a climax on Saturday 1 May 2004 as the EU-15 becomes the EU-25.
Recent national elections in a number of European countries have resulted in changes in government and rekindled hope of an agreement on a new EU Treaty by the close of the Irish Presidency.
About 2/3rds of the 732 MEPs elected on 10-13 June 2004 are expected to be newcomers to the institution. It is all change at the European Commission as several serving Commissioners have started to leave for new jobs and 10 CEE Commissioners take up their responsibilities.
In the new, enlarged Europe there are few certainties. The structure and role of the European Commission, the political approach of the Parliament and the interplay of Member States in the Council will all be very different.
Health advocates have a shared concern, the overall lack of public health awareness and vision in Europe and the need to ensure that differences in health status within and across Europe are addressed. The coming 6 months will present us with major challlenges and opportunities to create relationships with new policy-makers and to find fresh ways of getting health onto the EU agenda.
Please click here to read all the online articles of our newsletter for April 2004.
