September 2003 newsletter

Dear EPHA members, dear EPHA e-friends,

Welcome to the September edition of the EPHA newsletter.

Highlights of the month included the failure of the WTO Ministerial meeting in Cancun and an informal Health Council meeting in Milan which featured a protest by CEE countries about their exclusion from the EU Pharmaceuticals Review process.

GMOs were on the agenda in the Commission, Parliament and Council and obesity moved firmly onto the centre stage.

Germany announced its intention to once again challenge the EU Tobacco ad-ban.

DG Agriculture’s latest CAP reform measures were published and the proposal to phase out tobacco subsidies is expected to open up a controversial debate with the Parliament and Council.

The Commission’s environment and health consultation process was fornalised with the composition of the technical working groups.

Following extensive lobbying by industry and NGOs, the Commission’s new proposals for the REACH Chemicals review were published.

The Intergovernmental Conference begins in early October and throughout September many of the Member States (current and new) announced their positions for the negotiations.

The draft treaty articles on health were specifically mentioned by the Italian and French health ministers.

Next dates of EPHA’s Policy Coordination Meeting are:

*29 October 2003*

*3 December 2003*

The EPHA Newsletter for September 2003 is now available online.

You can consult the main articles online by clicking here.

Here is the table of contents:

About EPHA

EPHA Secretariat News

 Conference on consumer protection and democracy: "the food case"

 Conference on health information and communication

 Conference: for a European drug policy

 EPHA introduction to UK health and social services professionals

 Is health in the European Convention?

 Networking with Czech NGOs

 Training seminar in Cyprus : Health in the EU

 WHO workshop on children’s environmental health advocacy

EPHA Members News

 "Public health the natural way", a UKPHA workshop

 Ad hoc meeting for the CEHAPE working group

 BMA’s letter to UK delegates to Cancun

 Human Rights Watch issues a report on HIV/AIDS patients in China

 International congress on public health

 MHE conferences and meetings

 New EuroHealthNet reports on health, poverty and social exclusion in Europe

 Sixth EUROPA DONNA Pan-European Conference: ’Uniting for Standards - Equality for All’

 The risks for human health linked to home waste burning

 Vacancy announcement: EU Policy Advisor, Stop AIDS Alliance

Environment

 3rd International Conference on Children’s Health and the Environment

 Carcinogenic benzene levels highest at rush hour

 Children suffer most from the effects of ozone depletion

 Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the UK

 EP votes for a ’European Water Fund’

 EU-wide carbon dioxide emissions charge for European airlines

 European Investment Bank committed to environmental objectives

 Flame retardant chemical found in breast milk

 Liikanen presents consultation results on EU chemicals policy review to council

 New research on indoor air pollution

 Pollution particles found to have large impact on infant health

 US NGOs criticise Bush lobbying on EU’s chemicals review

 WHO discussion forum on health of children and adolescents

 WHO press release: tackling the rising death toll on roads

Europe

The European Council

 11 European health ministers sign the "Prague Declaration"

 EU legislation to cut down food borne diseases

 Informal Health Ministers meeting 5-6 September

The European Court of Justice

 All time spent by a doctor on call in a hospital constitutes working time

 ECJ allows Italy to temporarily ban GM foods

 ECJ supports temporary bans on marketing of novel foods

 EU hospital managers don’t need to pass additional tests to work in France

The IGC

 September 2003, timing of the 6th IGC

 August 2003, IGC campaign strategies

 Campaign for an active role of civil society in the IGC process

 September 2003, briefing on the IGC structure

The European Commission

 Commission demands EU role in fight against global health threats

 Commission issues European Social Situation Report 2003

 EU funded research on occupational health

 EU-African clinical trials partership programme

 Final stage on the debate on EU funding of stem cell research

The European Parliament

 EP adopts resolution on rights for people with disabilities

 September 2003, debate on the IGC in the EP

Food and Agriculture

 Brazil agrees restricted use of GM seed

 Chronic stress and obesity

 Conference on cancer and overweight in Europe

 EU regulations exclude GMO-free zones in Europe

 Food safety and third countries

 GMOs: guidelines on co-existence

 International Biosafety Protocol enters into force

 New amendment on food labelling Directive improves consumer information

 New EU legislation to control FMD outbreaks

 New US diet guidelines recognise national obesity problem

 Obesity in Europe

 Peoples’ food sovereignty statement

 Report finds direct link between junk food ads and children’s obesity

 Standing Committee on Seeds discusses Commission proposal on GMO

Society

 "Health care and mobility in an enlarged Europe"

 "Know my world": workshop on drug and alcohol addiction treatments

 3rd International Conference on Children’s Health and Environment

 A toolkit for health equity audits

 Access to maternity services in developing countries key to preventing deaths

 Accession Countries issue declaration on EU pharma review

 Cheaper ecstasy led to massive rise in death rate

 Childrens’ book on allergies provokes controversy

 Commission will not abolish tobacco subsidies

 Conference "Reducing Pesticide Dependency in Europe"

 Conference EU accession & agriculture

 Council supports Commission’s communication on the G10

 European pharmaceutical association makes its case to EPHA

 Graphic health warnings on cigarette packs

 Health care data protection in Hungary

 Healthy ageing - add your contribution to the debate!

 IAPO’s new website

 IGC campaign coordination event

 Illness, disability and social inclusion

 Review of poverty and health in Canada

 WHO comments on the August heatwave in Europe

 World Heart Day

Wealth

 Agreement on access to medicines

 Daily briefings from Cancun

 Joint NGO statement on TRIPS and public health

 The Cancun Ministerial conference of the WTO: What went wrong?

 The impact of global trade on public health