EPHA exploded onto the Brussels scene in 1993, just as the European Union first acquired a health competence - Art 129 of the Maastricht Treaty (subsequently Art 152 of the Amsterdam Treaty). This issue of the European Public Health Update celebrates EPHA’s 10th anniversary. We look back over the past ten years to highlight the successes, learn lessons and evaluate how the political context has changed.
Looking forward, there has never been a more exciting time to work on health issues in Europe. The Convention on the future of Europe and the subsequent Intergovernmental Conference will substantially rewrite the EU Treaty possibly upgrading Europe’s competences in public health. The biggest enlargement in EU history has arrived and the process will not stop as potential EU membership has recently been proposed to several countries in the Balkan region.
As the institutional architecture of the new Europe is constructed, it is worth remembering what individual Europeans want from this experiment. Successive opinion polls carried out across Western, Central and Eastern Europe reveal a remarkably consistent picture: key policy priorities are security, health, employment, social issues and the environment. European decision-makers must hear these messages if a "Europe of citizens" is ever to become a reality.
Tamsin Rose, EPHA General Secretary
