Secretariat News Winter 2010

1. Activity and communication

European institutions

  Spanish Presidency of the Council – January to June 2010 The Spanish Presidency has been much anticipated but also veiled in a degree of mystery as very little coherent information was emerging leading up to the end of 2009: the Presidency website experienced a number of problems including hacking and priorities were being inferred through rumours and Brussels hearsay. The main priorities are economic recovery and the future of employment Europe, both with a strong impact on health. More information on the Presidency can be found here for non-members and [here for members www.epha.org/a/3798]. On 26 January 2010, the Spanish Health Minister was present at the ENVI Committee to answer questions on the forthcoming period where she outlined their priorities for health including chronic disease and patient safety, pharmaceutical policy and the Patient Rights Directive as well as consumer information and novel foods. Please see here for more information

  Meeting with John Dalli – incoming European Commissioner for Health The Secretary General and President received a request from incoming Health Commissioner, John Dalli, for a meeting on Wednesday 9 December in Brussels. The meeting went well, with the objective being to prepare the Commissioner for his Parliamentary hearing, and was one in a series of meetings between the Commissioner-designate and stakeholders. The Secretary General outlined the current areas of particular concern for the health community, including the tension between public health and health services in terms of priorities at European level, the need for sufficient resources for health promotion and disease prevention as well as the challenges facing European NGOs in terms of resourcing, staff retention and access to European funds. Overall impression of the meeting was positive, with the Commissioner expressing interest for a continued dialogue with EPHA during his term.

  Parliamentary Commissioner hearings

1. . John Dalli, Designate Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, was heard by the European Parliament on 14 January 2009. "Patients first. Consumers first" was the motto Dalli used as a key heading during the hearing. Dalli notably did not make any specific promises to the health community about his term, but was strong on a number of issues including pharmaceutical policy, informing consumers about what they were eating, and acting as a guardian for consumers. Initial reactions from the public health community, both within and beyond the institutions, were mostly very positive with Dalli coming across as an intelligent, informed and experienced politician. Not all were positive however, with some expressing disappointment that he was not stronger on protecting public health in these files, nor did he explicitly address the tobacco industry. He was clearly well-briefed before the hearing, although the MEPs’ questions could have been better coordinated, with many file-specific questions and few on bigger picture plans, and a number of duplicate questions from the floor. Overall the hearing was a success and the Commissioner-designate was well-received by MEPs and NGOs alike. More information on his hearing can be found here, on his answers on food policy here on the negotiation with files in the Council here and his questions on pharmaceutical policy here

1. . Dacian Ciolos on 15 January 2010, the Commissioner-designate for DG Agriculture and Rural Development , showed his grasp of technical issues at the European Parliament hearing. His main focus will be on ensuring food security and stable incomes for farmers. His hearing was very well-received from public health participants, particularly due to earlier fears over a ‘too close’ relationship with France’s Commissioner Michel Barnier, and the influence this may have on the agricultural dossier in the next term. He showed a good grasp of the dossier and outlined a commitment to reform taking in both environmental and social concerns, with equitable solutions giving safe and good quality food for Europe. More information on his hearing can be found here

  Health Intergroup Following the unsuccessful attempt by the Secretariat to secure a health Intergroup, in 2010 EPHA will pursue the creation of a health forum within the European Parliament. Current discussions within the Parliament focus on a small number of meetings a year on key topics and dossiers

European processes

  Post-Lisbon Strategy On 24 November the European Commission published a public consultation document on a post-Lisbon strategy for the European Union, called “EU 2020”. This is a once-in-ten-year opportunity to influence the future direction of the EU. The post-Lisbon strategy will act as a business plan for Europe, and it is crucial that the health and well-being of citizens is at the centre. EPHA and its members were heavily involved in the drafting of the EU Health Policy Forum response. We have received information that this was very well received within the Cabinet of the Commissioner as well as the Commission services. The Secretary General chaired the drafting group of the EUHPF, and the involvement from EPHA members was very high both in the EUHPF consultation and our internal consultation. More information can be found on

  Better Regulation EPHA is supporting the Smoke-Free Partnership (SFP) in work on the Better Regulation agenda, including impact assessment, stakeholder engagement and risk assessment. The SFP commissioned research from the University of Bath on the history of Better Regulation, and specifically the heavy involvement of the tobacco and other industries on the process. Please read about this new research here The Secretary General attended a meeting with Florence Bertelleti-Kemp (SFP) and Susanne Logstrup (EHN) with the Secretariat General, Head of Unit for Impact Assessment and Director responsible for Better Regulation within the Commission. The meeting went well, with good indicators on the necessary next steps - EPHA members can request the Secretariat for the notes from this meeting. An event is to be held in the European Parliament on 24 February, discussing the impact of the SFP report and the limits and adequacy of the Better Regulation agenda, if you would like further information or to register to attend the event please click here.

European policies

  Climate change EPHA was invited to take part in a joint Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) delegation to the COP15. The joint delegation brought the united voice of the health community to urge global leaders to avert a global health crisis now by abating climate change. Disappointingly, attendance in the conference itself was made impossible due to logistical difficulties at the conference. The UN severely restricted access: from 15,000 observers down to 300 in the final days of the conference. More information can be found on our article

  Tobacco On 30 November and 1 December, two EPHA members - the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL), the European Network for Smoking Prevention - organised a Tobacco Control Advocacy and Campaign Workshop together with the Global Dialogue for Effective Stop Smoking Campaigns. The two-day meeting covered new media and tobacco control, as well as effective fund-raising in tobacco control efforts. More information can be found here

  Diet and Nutrition The Joint High Level Group/Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health was held on 3 and 4 December 2009 at the Charlemagne building of the European Commission. EPHA participated on both days and organised a pre-meeting for the NGO partners. Please find a full article here On 7-8 December 2009 the first meeting of the Cancer Partnership was held. EPHA is a member of the Partnership as are a large number of EPHA’s member organisations. The finalisation of the projects and proposals for the joint action is currently underway. Please find a full article here

The EU Platform for action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health was held on 3 and 4 December at the Charlemagne building of the European Commission. The monitoring of the EU Strategy, reformulation of food, Public Private Partnerships (PPP) and members’ commitments on labeling were part of the discussions. You can find EPHA summary of the Platform

On 25 and 27 January 2010, the amendments to the proposed Regulation on the Provision of Food Information to Consumers was discussed in the ENVI and IMCO Committees. The process is not proceeding in the direction of better protection of public health, with a broad misunderstanding of the key issues amongst MEPs and industry representatives. The implications are that public health goals will not be reached in this dossier. Please read on for more information

  Alcohol Secretariat representative Jo Jewell is co-authoring a peer-reviewed article together with Nick Sheron from the Royal College of Physicians on alcohol-related harm in Europe. A briefing on minimum pricing is available here. On 13 January 2010, the Policy Officer for Health Determinants participated in the volunteer group for the Open Alcohol Forum, where EPHA made recommendations for the agenda and content of the next Alcohol Open Forum to be held in April 2010. EPHA will submit comments to the European Commission in writing and will make this available to our members in the February newsletter.

9 November 2009, In order to support the 2007 Council Recommendation on prevention of injury and promotion of safety, a group of twelve European Non-Governmental Organisations issued a policy statement on Alcohol and Injuries. The statement urges action in areas of high injuries such as driving, the workplace, sports and leisure activities, supporting public information and awareness and regulation of the alcohol market. Please find information on the NGO statement here EPHA was one of the signatories of this statement, and in order to raise awareness released a press release on 25 November 2009 to disseminate this further. Please find EPHA’s press release here This was well-reported in the Brussels-based media and was picked up in the specialist press across Europe.

On 13 January 2009, EPHA sent an open letter to the Secretary of State for Health in the United Kingdom Andrew Burnham. The letter was sent in reaction to the announcement by the Secretary of State of plans to include a minimum price per unit of alcohol scheme in the Labour Party election manifesto. The letter supported the action and praised the UK for demonstrating bold leadership and a strong action to protect public health. Please find the letter here

  Mental health On November 30 2009 Mental Health Europe, EPHA member, hosted its annual awareness-raising event in the European Parliament. The theme, "Poverty and Mental Health: a Human Rights Perspective" was tied to the European Year 2010 for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion. MHE hosted the event to raise awareness about the link between poverty and mental health, to highlight the human rights perspective, and to urge MEPs to take these issues into consideration. The link between poverty and mental health, and the importance of this in terms of reducing and mitigating health inequalities makes this an area of increasing priority for EPHA. More information can be found here

  Sexual health On 13 January 2010, EPHA attended the Sexual Health Forum. The Forum marks a step towards the formation of a EU strategy on sexual health for young people. The overall aim of the Forum is to raise knowledge and awareness of the importance of sexual health and well-being for the overall health status of current and future generations. A full report on the Forum can be found here

  Global Health The Global Health Policy Forum, co-organised by Directorate-Generals Development, SANCO and Research, took place for the fourth time in January 2010. Since its inception the meeting has attracted large numbers of participants keen to provide input and discuss global health and related issues. This latest meeting was to debate global health, with a focus on research and knowledge. Please read on for more information

EPHA submitted its response to the on-line consultation of the EC on Global Health at the beginning of December 2009. The response elaborates on the questions outlined in the annex to an "issues paper" on global health produced by the EC. The full EPHA response can be found here

  Trade Rotterdam, 10-11 December 2009 - EPHA participated in the International Conference on Healthcare and Trade. The event focused on the influence of the European Union and the World Trade Organization on trade in health services, health insurance services and health goods (pharmaceuticals). More information on this event can be found here

  Pharmaceutical policy On 2 December 2009 the EPHA secretariat attended the public meeting “A closer look at the legislative proposals on ‘information’ to patients: making the right choice for Europe” hosted by Dr Thomas Ulmer MEP (Germany, EPP) and Carl Schlyter MEP (Sweden, Greens/EFA). The meeting was co-organised by Association Internationale de la Mutualité (AIM), Bureau Européen des Consommateurs (BEUC), Health Action International (HAI) Europe, the International Society of Drug Bulletins (ISDB), Medicines in Europe Forum (MiEF) and Mutualité Française. This event is part of series organised in the European Parliament to inform MEPs on the importance of appropriate action on information to patients. More information can be found here

2. Partnerships

International bodies

  The World Bank EPHA attended a meeting with the World Bank (WB) as a representative of AFGH. The meeting was attended by the WB Head of Communications - Rachel Winter-Jones. The World Bank will host a physical meeting on 4 March in Brussels as the first part of a process of dialogue between the bank and CSOs on Global Health. This Brussels-based meeting will involve one of the three WB Managing Directors – Graham Wheeler and the Vice President and head of Human Development - Julian Schweitzer.

European bodies

  European Food Standards Agency On 1-2 December 2009, EPHA participated in the first meeting of the newly-reformed European Food Safety Authority Stakeholder Consultative Platform in Parma. Points discussed over the course of the two-day meeting included the health claims assessments, EFSA’s risk assessments on GMOs, nanotechnology and the future of the Stakeholder Platform. Please find more information here

European projects

  Seventh Framework Programme On 22 January, a large call for proposals open under DG Research closed. EPHA was approached by EUPHA to co-lead a project focused on research into policy and practice which was submitted. Full details of the project submitted is available upon request.

National public health community

  Meeting with the Polish Ambassador to Belgium Following the work undertaken in Lodz on capacity building amongst the Polish public health community, a Brussels-based event is taking place on 22-23 February (please see members section below for more information). As part of this work, EPHA wrote to the Polish Ambassador to Belgium, His Excellency Slawomir Czarlewski, to inform him of the arrival of a Polish delegation and request for possible support for such an event. The meeting went well and there is the possibility to cooperate with the Embassy in future.

3. Staff

Staff changes

  New starters Anne Hoel accepted EPHA’s offer of European Policy Manager and will start on 1 April 2010. Alison Abrahams has come in-house from 1 February as Membership and Communications Officer – she was previously supporting EPHA on the EU Health Policy Forum tender. Robert Pederson has joined as the Manager of the Agriculture and Health Campaign.

  Leavers Naroesha Jaggesar did not take up the post at EPHA due to another offer; therefore the recruitment of a new Health Systems Policy Officer is once again underway. The job advert is available here Nina Prunier left EPHA in January and her position will not be replaced in the immediate future. Caroline Bollars has stepped down from EPHA and will remain in the WHO in Copenhagen for the immediate future and will be replaced by Anne Hoel from 1 April 2010. Tina Blain left EPHA at the end of December following the end of her secondment and started work at a Brussels-based consultancy as Project Manager for the Diet Platform and other EU and health-related projects.

  Promotions and internal changes We are delighted to announce that Luiza Bara has become Director of Policy and Strategy from 1 January, and will continue with dual responsibilities until Anne Hoel has taken over the Policy Manager responsibilities in April 2010. Jo Jewell has been promoted to Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Coordinator following a successful year as Policy Officer, and will be responsible for the work of Doriane Fuchs who is joining EPHA in April 2010 as Policy Officer for Disease Prevention. Leonardo Palumbo will also be staying on at EPHA as Officer for EU Affairs from April 2010. Sascha Marschang will be continuing at EPHA as Membership and Governance Coordinator.

We are currently in the process of finalizing a new Organigram for the Secretariat which will be made available together with the documents for the next planning period, 2011 to 2014.

5. Members

  Re-organisation of EPHA website EPHA started the process of re-organisation of the website to make it more user-friendly. This is currently on track, with a new structure approved, and is expected to become live at the end of 2010.

  Member services review A member services reveiw was undertaken in 2009 as part of the work to improve EPHA’s functioning and services. The Secretariat will build on this paper which will be presented as part of a package of service-related items at the General Assembly.

  EPHA Capacity Building Toolkit A capacity building toolkit was developed in 2009 as part of the work to develop public health advocacy in Central and Eastern Europe. This paper outlines the various steps needed in developing successful capacity building, in public health advocacy, at national level. The guidance is based on the review of EPHA’s work in this field over the organisation’s 15 years of experience, and includes outcomes from the trialed methodology at the 2009 Annual Public Health Conference. This is being finalised and approved, and will become available to members of the public health community.

  EU workshop for members "A Taste of Europe" EPHA is organising a two-day induction into European affairs for members and central and Eastern European delegates on 22-23 February in Brussels. This is part of EPHA’s capacity building work for CEE, and given the interest from the members it has been opened up to other delegates. This service is something for the Secretariat to explore as part of an annual or bi-annual activity. Please see more information here

  Meeting with the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) EPHA President and Secretary General met with the RCP in 2010 for a bilateral discussion of the main issues of cooperation. Topics discussed included alcohol and tobacco, patient quality and safety, health services and patient mobility, pharmaceutical policy and sexual and reproductive health. The RCP was represented by their Chief Executive Martin Else and European Advisor, Paul Belcher. This is part of a series of meetings being undertaken by the President towards EPHA members.