Food and food safety
The Austrian Presidency re-opened the current safety assessments done by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which, according to some member states, has approved GM products without proper research. However, Austria’s attempt at putting the issue of genetically modified crops high on the EU agenda during it’s presidency failed as EU environment ministers only "exchanged views" at their last meeting in June. Finland took over the rotating leadership in June but will not discuss the issue during their six-month presidency.
Austria had more success with the proposals on health and nutrition claims and on food fortification. The European Parliamment voted in May to back these proposals following long debate. EPHA is particularly happy with the outcomes, having lobbied hard for stricter conditions on the use of nutrition claims. For more information, see EPHA Response to EC’s Proposal on ’Nutrition & Health Claims Made on Foods’ and our article on Regulation on Nutrition and Health Claims.
Regarding the organic production of food, the Austrian Presidency pushed for improvement in existing legislation and the control instruments, including greater transparency, better labelling rules, restriction of GMO in organic food and improved coordination between control bodies. This resulted in the Austrian Presidency drafting a second compromise paper in June in conjunction with its successor, Finland. Future discussion in the European Council will be based on this paper.
Women’s health
The Informal Council of the Health Ministers in April was partly dedicated to the most topical issues of Women’s Health such as female cardio-vascular diseases and the increasing amount of female smokers and rise of lung cancer with women. Special attention was paid to two illness affecting women during and after the years of fertility, namely endometriosis and osteoporosis. The European Heart Network, an EPHA member, worked with the Austrian Presidency on this issue, Women’s Health at Heart.
The Council invited Member States to collect gender specific data on health, take initiatives to enhance health professionals knowledge on gender and health, promote research on gender and health and examine health inequalities in the light of gender. They invited the European Commission to integrate gender in research and health policies and present a second report on the state of women’s health.
Furthermore, Austria contributed to measuring the degree of implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action which was agreed upon at the 4th UN World Conference for Women ten years ago. Starting during the first Austrian Presidency in 1997, the European Union has already developed a set of indicators in order to operationalise five of the twelve strategic objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action. Thus, Austria has undertaken to developing indicators for measuring progress on women’s health.
Women’s health is inextricably linked to safeguarding fundamental legal rights of women. Austria, like other European Union countries, has experienced that young migrant women are confronted with harmful traditional practices such as forced marriage, female genital mutilation and honour-crimes. A Ministerial conference was held in January 2006 aimed at an exchange of national best practices in combating these harmful traditional practices.
The second Austrian report on Womens’ Health as well as the outcome of a pilot project on gender mainstreaming in health care was presented during the Austrian Presidency.
Diabetes
The Austrian Presidency 2006 highlighted prevention of type 2 diabetes, through the exchange of expertise and the discussion of potential steps at Community level.
In order to provide a forum for all EU member states and candidate countries to exchange views and discuss different approaches, a conference was organised in February in Vienna by the Austrian Health Institute (OBIG), in close cooperation with the European Commission, the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Europe - an EPHA member -, the Federation of European Nurses in Diabetes (FEND) and Primary Care Diabetes (PCD) Europe.
Additionally, the Austrian Health Institute (OBIG) prepared a study that contains a compilation of relevant policy measures in the field of diabetes prevention. The study covered measures in Austria as well as in EU member states and candidate countries and will be presented at the conference mentioned above.
Diabetes on the agenda of the European Parliament and the Austrian Presidency
Calendar of key events: The calendar of key health-related events during the Austrian Presidency included -
10 March 2006:
Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers Council (Brussels)
25 - 26 April 2006:
Health Ministers (informal) (Vienna)
1 - 2 June 2006:
Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers Council (Luxembourg)
A conference on Diabetes Type 2 on the 15-16 February in Vienna.
The e-Health 2006 High Level Conference was organised with the objective of analysing the role of the European Regions in the e-health strategies.
1st European Conference on Injury Prevention, 26-28 June, Vienna.
Key contacts
Ms Brigitte Magistris, Federal Ministry of Health and Women, Austria
Mr Peter Kranner, Food and Food Safety
Ms Theresa Philippi, Women’s Health
Ms Theresia Unger, Diabetes
Ms Maria Rauch-Kallat, Minister for Health and Women
History of the Austrian Presidency
Austria ran the Presidency of the European Union for the second time after its accession in 1995.
The same structure and information mechanisms which were used for the Presidency in 1998 have been put in place in 2006 (Executive Secretariat within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
A new departure from the 1998 approach was the drafting of the annual work programme together with Finland, which will hold the presidency of the Union in the second part of 2006.
