Newsletter November 2007

November 2007 Newsletter

Welcome to the November 2007 edition of the EPHA Newsletter.
As 2007 comes to an end, EU Health Ministers meeting on 5/6 December will have an agenda full of major new issues to discuss. On 23 October 2007, the European Commission published the long awaited EU Health Strategy for 2008-2013. This new framework connects core health issues with an approach to mainstream health across all EU health policies and a focus on the EU role on global health. This more holistic view of the linkages (...)

Secretariat News November 2007

Events organised by EPHA Caroline organised a Policy Coordination meeting on 7 November 2007 with a lot of EPHA members participating. The draft minutes of the PCM are available on EPHA’s website in the Members only section.
Caroline organised a workshop on 16 November in Edinburgh in the framework of the STACS project (funded by FP6). The workshop was co-organised with the University of Warwick. A report of the two days workshop can be found in the Members only section of EPHA’s website. (...)

New EPHA’s Secretary General

EPHA is delighted to announce the appointment of its new Secretary General, Monika Danuta Kosińska, who will take up the function on 1 February 2008.
Monika has experience in managing teams, networking and advocacy in the public and private sector. She has extensive knowledge of public health issues at EU and national level. Her previous jobs have included representing regional health bodies in Brussels, government relations for a major retail group and interim director for an alliance (...)

Joint statement on Innovative Medicines Initiative launched

The European Respiratory Society (ERS), an EPHA member, has coordinated and endorsed the Joint Statement on Innovative Medicines, which was launched on 17 October 2007.
The ERS has coordinated an official endorsement from ten medical societies and organisations expressing support for the Innovative Medicines Initiative, which will represent a unique opportunity for collaboration between public and private research groups at the EU-level. ERS believes that this opportunity, if seized now, (...)

The European Court of Justice pursues greater EU transparency

On the 8 November 2007, the Court of First Instance (see the attached document) annulled the Commission’s denial to reveal the identities of all participants at a meeting involving representatives from the Commission (namely DG Internal Market and Services ), the UK Department of Trade and Industry, and the Confederation des Brasseurs du Marche Commun. The sentence will be recalled by a number of EU advocates as a benchmark towards greater transparency.
Background
In May 1992, the Bavarian (...)

The Reform Treaty: strengths and shortcomings

On 19 October 2007 EU leaders agreed the precise text of the Reform Treaty, which is due to be formally signed on 13 December 2007 in order to take effect in January 2009. The purpose of this article is to explore the main innovations included in the new treaty.
The rejection of the Constitutional Treaty by popular vote in France and the Netherlands was followed by a reflection period. This provided an opportunity to review new options for institutional governance of the European Union. (...)

The European Child Safety Alliance (ECSA) evaluates the performances of 18 European countries on child and adolescent safety

On 20 November 2007, MEP Arlene McCarthy, Chair of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, hosted a press conference to release the major findings of the Child Safety Report Cards outlined by Mrs Joanne Vincenten, director of ECSA and co-author of the review. The summoning of the event was welcomed by representatives from the European Commission, UNICEF and WHO. An 11 year-old girl, Amber Kemp from the Decroly primary school, lead a safety quiz. Daniela Negri from EPHA (...)

Symposium on Mental Health Economics in Europe

Mental Health Europe (MHE) and the London School of Economics (LSE) are organising the "Mental Health Economics European Network, Phase II Symposium" that will take place on Thursday, 13 December 2007 from 9.30 to 13.00 at the West Midlands in Europe office, Avenue d’Auderghem 22-28, Brussels, Belgium (see www.mheen.org).
The Mental Health Economics European Network (MHEEN II) embraces 31 European countries, and is funded by the EU Directorate General for Health and Consumer (...)

Comprehensive report on the link between cancer prevention and nutrition

The World Cancer Research Fund together with the American Institute for Cancer Research launched its second expert report entitled, ’Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective.’ The goal of this report is to meticulously review all the current research and generate a set of recommendations to reduce the risk of cancer in all societies.
The publication is the most comprehensive report ever published on the link between the prevention of cancer and (...)

EU Members States say yes to RIP Cigarettes

On 29 November 2007, the EU RIP Alliance obtained Member State endorsement of mandating cigarette makers to only sell self-extinguishing cigarettes (RIP cigarettes). On behalf of the EU RIP Alliance, Florence Berteletti illustrates with enthusiasm why this is a very significant victory, its details, and what is next to be done.
On 29 November 2007, the EU member states overwhelmingly endorsed the EC plans to draw up proposals for a standard to combat the leading cause of home fire (...)

*Updated* Towards a Europe free from tobacco smoke - EPHA responds

*UPDATED with European Parliament response*.
On 30 January, 2007, the European Commission issued a public consultation on freeing Europe from environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).
Background
Environmental tobacco smoke is also known as "second-hand smoke" or "passive smoking" and is a known cause of illness and death in the European Union.
The promotion of smoke-free places within Europe began with concern for health and safety at work and has now progressed to country-wide bans on smoking in (...)

Launch of a new UK Alcohol Health Alliance, 13 November 2007

On 13 November 2007, a new UK Alcohol Health Alliance was launched to prevent the rise of alcohol-related diseases.
The Royal College of Physicians, together with 23 members, launched a new UK Alcohol Alliance. The mission of the alliance is to reduce the damage to health caused by alcohol misuse. The aim of the UK Alcohol Alliance is to:
highlight the rising levels of alcohol related harm
propose evidence based solutions to reduce this harm
influence decision makers to take positive (...)

Invoking an EU-strategy for Roma communities across Europe

A group of NGOs sent a joint statement to European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso to raise awareness on the sensitive issue of Roma social exclusion across Europe.
It is a fact that Roma people are subjected to discrimination in many parts of Europe. Hence, it is extremely important that a group of eight NGOs, among which include Amnesty International and the Open Society, is raising awareness on the need of EU-wide strategy on Roma. To get this message across to EU leaders, the (...)

*Updated* Social reality stock-taking: European Parliament response to Commission consultation

This article has been updated with the recent communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, which was adopted on 20 November 2007. As a result of this additional document, the new deadline for responses has been postponed until 15 February 2008.
In an own-initiative report on Europe’s social reality, the European Parliament asks the Commission and Member States to aggressively attempt (...)

WHO reviews innovation and intellectual property issues

Negotiations for a new approach to improving access to essential medicines suspended as consensus proves illusive.