April 2010 Newsletter

Welcome to the April 2010 Newsletter

April was a challenging month for the mobile Brussels-based community - a insignificant volcano far away with an unpronounceable name succeeded in bringing normal business to a halt in a city where a vast number of the European professionals think nothing of travelling to meetings across Europe to meet other Brussels-based collegues. With the skies empty, the Spanish Presidency was forced to cancel a number of meetings - including the long-awaited "Moving forward in equity" event. Long-planned Brussels meetings such as the Alcohol Open Forum were also cancelled, and with Strasbourg half empty the impact was felt by those stranded abroad as well as those left behind.

However, the travel hiatus leaves a burning question - is this level of travel sustainable or justified? With mobility as one of the European Union’s founding principles it is not surprising that the fabric of the functioning of the EU is made by travel and particularly air travel. The monthly shuffle between Brussels and Strasbourg of the European Parliament is a ludicrous waste of tax payers money, and politicians’ time. Two Presidencies a year means a number of high profile meetings bringing delegates from across the region; plus conferences, meetings, workshops, networks, projects, exchanges, study visits and training as Europeans hussle and bussle, to and fro, from capital to capital. The environmental cost is enormous, not to mention the financial cost on travel, hotels, subsistence and so on. This year will see two events that have interrupted the regular pendulum from country to country - the volcano was the first, the Belgian Presidency from July the second, with most events a short train ride away from the centre of Brussels.

However the Belgian Presidency has its own challenges. With the collapse of the Belgian government, the planning and decision-making has ground to a halt. No doubt this is unfortunate for the army of civil servants throughout the different Ministries signing off agendas and planning summits, but it also has a profound impact on the running of the country. Decisions on asylum cases, for example, are also suspended. For health, the situation is particularly difficult. The devolved nature of decision-making in Belgium, split between the Flemish region of Flanders, the French-speaking region of Wallonia and the bi-lingual Brussels region, means that the responsibility for health is mostly regional and not federal. Therefore the political decision on who can represent the country on health issues is difficult to resolve at the best of times, let alone with no government at the helm.

So Europe has already been tested - can the intricate functioning of the Union continue without the need to congregate in corners around the continent? Apparently so - the overarching feeling appeared to be relief from having to attend yet another conference. Perhaps it is time to explore the digital agenda further.

The question that remains is can Europe continue to function effectively without a fully operational Presidency at its helm? We shall find out.

Monika Kosinska

Secretary General

Brussels

Read all the online articles from our April 2010 Newsletter.

EPHA members can find the following new information in the Members Only section:

 *Updated* EC Consultation on Smart Regulation
 Meeting of the EFSA Stakeholder Consultative Platform
 Meeting Report from EFSA-EPHA Bilateral Meeting- 13 April 2010
 Health Technology Assesments - understanding the political challenges
 Food Information to Consumers postponed in European Parliament
 Policy Seminar on Research and Respiratory Medicine
 European Roma Summit roundtable on Roma health and social inequalities
 How 1 million citizens can change Europe - report on an S&D meeting on the European Citizens’ Initiative
 The Seventh Global Health Policy Forum: Global Health Communication, Action for Global Health`s policy report and the 63rd World Health Assembly.
 EU Budget and Financial Perspectives: what are the upcoming steps?
 European Parliament lunch debate on Alzheimer’s disease
 Formal launch of the European Parliament Interest Group on Mental Health

Please note that if an EPHA member would like to highlight their activities in the EPHA Newsletter, the deadline to submit a news item is Friday 21 May 2010. Please send your items to the EPHA Secretariat