Newsletter February 2004

February 2004 newsletter

Welcome to the February 2004 edition of the EPHA newsletter. The Irish Presidency is trying to make progress on the European Constitution. Dublin has to deliver a progress report to the Spring summit (25-26 March) and is talking to the Heads of State to gauge willingess to resolve key issues such as voting weights. Some reports indicate that no consensus exists on the public health articles, with some Member States refusing to consider an extension of EU powers. However, cooperation (...)

MEPs emphasize the importance of healthcare

On 11 March 2004, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs will debate an own-initiative report on health care and the care of the elderly. The report was drawn up by Karin JÖNS (PES, D) as a response to the Commission Communication The future of health care and care for the elderly: guaranteeing accessibility, quality and financial viability, COM(2001) 774. MEPs will debate the report’s recommendations on the role for the EU in supporting Member States’ strategies for (...)

2004 Call for proposals launched

The European Commission has launched the 2004 Call for proposals for projects to be funded through the EU public Health Programme. This follows the adoption on 25 February of the 2004 Work plan which sets out the priorities for this year. The deadline for submission of proposals is 26 April 2004. An Information Day for potential project submitters covering the implementation of the Public Health Programme was held on Monday 22 March 2004, 9h30-16h00 at the European Commission in (...)

OECD 2004 forum addresses health and finance

The OECD Forum 2004 is entitled ’Health of nations’ and will tackle some of the key issues on the international policy agenda, such as the health of the global economy, the health of multilateral co-operation and the health of our citizens. Themes include human rights and health, ageing, equity of access to healthcare, sustainable development and communicable diseases. Speakers include health and finance ministers from OECD countries, senior WTO, EU and OECD officials. The (...)

EU forecasts limited migration after enlargement

A Eurobarometer study shows that only about 1 % of the population of the new Member States intends to move to western Europe to study and work. The new study from the European Foundation for the Improvement in Living and Working Conditions, shows that the typical potential migrants are young, educated to tertiary level, or still studying, and living as a single person with no dependents. There is an increasing tendency for them to be female, particularly in growing sectors such as (...)

MEPs call for stronger sanctions on food safety

MEPs are calling for closer monitoring and criminal sanctions on safety, labelling and inspection of animal feed products. On 9 March 2004, the Environment Committee will give a 1st reading to a report by MEP Marit PAULSEN (ELDR, S) on the draft Regulation on official feed and food controls. After a number of food scares such as BSE and salmonella, the EU has prioritised safety of the food chain. This new draft regulation would bring together several existing pieces of legislation (...)

Last negotiations on children’s environment and health agenda

The fourth intergovernmental preparatory meeting on the health and environment process will take place in Malta on 25-26 March, 2004. On the agenda will be discussions around the Children’s Environment and Health Action Plan (also known as CEHAPE) and whether or not a Table of Actions should be annexed to the ministerial document. The CEHAPE contains four Regional Priority Goals that address four areas in which the highest burden of disease for children exists. This includes: (...)

EU Environment and Health Action Plan in the making

Consultative Forum meets to discuss next steps. The Consultative Forum will meet on March 3 and 4, 2004 to discuss what type of actions and recommendations should be considered in the EU Action Plan on Environment and Health (2004-2010). The agenda and papers for the meeting (available only 8 days before the meeting) include approximately 800 pages of recommendations put forward by the nine Technical Working Groups. The recommendations cover primarily the actions needed to set up a (...)

EPHA Secretariat news February 2004

Manon Favrin joins the EPHA secretariat on a 5 month internship as part of her studies on health. A Policy Coordination Meeting (PCM) was held on 25 February 2004 and draft minutes of the meeting are available in the ’Members Only’ section. The next PCM is scheduled for 31 March 2004. Lara Garrido Herrero participated in the first meeting of a working group from the European Health Policy Forum on ’Services of a General Interest’. The group is coordinated by EPSU. (...)

Job announcement: Head of Donor Relations and Resource Mobilisation Team, International HIV/AIDS Alliance

The International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Oxford Human Resource Consultants are recruiting a Head of Donor Relations and Resource Mobilisation Team to replace the outgoing post-holder and to lead the team from March 2004. The overall purpose of the position is to lead the programme funding strategy and implementation of the Alliance Secretariat, working closely with the other senior employees and the Executive, and to support the funding development of Alliance country programme offices and (...)