Newsletter April 2004

EPHA secretariat news April 2004

EPHA moves offices
On 5 April 2004, the EPHA Secretariat moved to a new office in the European quarter of Brussels. EPHA members are welcome to visit the office and talk to the team. Please update your mailing lists with our new address:
39-41 Rue d’Arlon, B-1000 Brussels.
The telephone, fax and email details remain unchanged.
Bridging the Gap
Tamsin Rose particated in the pre-meeting for speakers and moderators for the ’Bridging the Gap’ conference being organised by Eurocare in Warsaw in (...)

April 2004 newsletter

Welcome to the April 2004 edition of the EPHA Newsletter,
The European landscape is experiencing rapid change.
More than a decade of political expectation and administrative preparation comes to a climax on Saturday 1 May 2004 as the EU-15 becomes the EU-25.
Recent national elections in a number of European countries have resulted in changes in government and rekindled hope of an agreement on a new EU Treaty by the close of the Irish Presidency.
About 2/3rds of the 732 MEPs elected on (...)

Vacancy with EUROCARE

EUROCARE, the European Council for Alcohol Research Rehabilitation and Education Advocacy for the Prevention of Alcohol-Related Harm in Europe, is recruiting a Part Time Project Officer to assist in organising and implementing a 3 year project to create a European Alcohol Policy Network (APN).
The APN is grant aided by DG Sanco. A steering group consisting of the Project Leader, the International Co-ordinator and the Senior Adviser manages the overall project.
The APN is a wide platform of (...)

AIRNET 3rd annual conference

AIRNET, the thematic network on air pollution and health, organises a conference on 21-23 October 2004 in Prague.
The conference will address the question to what extent AIRNET has succeeded in bridging the gap between policy and science. This was one of AIRNET’s goals when it was initiated in 2002.
National and EU policy makers, industry, patient, environmental and health care organisations and researches involved in the field of air pollution and health as well as everyone participating (...)

MEPs contamined by 76 different toxic chemicals

WWF and The Co-operative Bank took and analysed the blood of 47 people from all over Europe in December 2003. These included 39 Members of the European Parliament, 4 Observers from accession countries, 1 former MEP and 3 WWF staff, representing 17 countries in Europe. The results released on 21 April 2004 are unacceptable.
It reveal that every person is contaminated with a cocktail of persistent, bio-accumulative and toxic chemicals including chemicals from each of the 5 groups of chemicals (...)

The Parliament adopted ban on hazardous Ni-Cad batteries

European parliament voted last 20 April 2004 to ban Nickel-Cadmium (Ni-Cad) batteries.
This ban will cover Ni-Cad batteries used in household appliances as well as in power tools.
It also adopted restrictions on the use of lead in non-lead batteries which can be fully replaced by environmentally preferable Alkali-Mangan batteries, and higher collection rates than those proposed by the European Commission.
GREENS-EFA press release (...)

Fourth European conference on sustainable cities and towns

"Inspiring futures" is the title of the fourth edition of the european conference on sustainable cities and towns, which will take place on 9-11 June 2004 in Aalborg, Denmark.
The central outcome of this conference will be to approve the final declaration, the Aalborg Commitments, a set of shared commitments to be jointly implemented by local governments across Europe.
This conference is organised within the framework of the European Sustainable Cities and Towns campaign
Conference (...)

Presidency publishes new text for IGC discussions, 3 May

In preparation for IGC Focal points meeting on 4 May 2004, the Irish Presidency has published a new draft (CIG 73/04) of the Constitutional Treaty based on Document CIG 60/03 ADD1, incorporating changes to the Naples text of December 2003.
However, the Presidency emphasized that this new document is not an official proposal and that issues related to Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) still need to be worked out. But no new concerns could be tabled by Member States.
The next IGC meetings (on (...)

Website launched on European Parliament Elections

The European Parliament has launched a new website about the elections which will be held across Europe on 10-13 June 2004.
The website includes lists of candidates, statistics about each country and an overview of the outgoing Parliament (1999 - 2004).
EP Elections website

An enlarged EU: an opportunity for health?

1st May 2004 represents a both historical and symbolic landmark in the process of European integration.
Initiated more than 50 years ago, the concept of the European Union now includes some of the countries that once belonged to the former Communist block.
While undoubtedly a milestone in the ‘ever wider and closer’ European experiment, this new enlargement also raises a whole range of serious challenges particularly in terms of health and health policies.
Importance of Enlargement
In (...)

Business leaders and EU Competitiveness Council exchange views

On 26 April 2004, the Irish Presidency organised a round table discussion between the EU Competitiveness Council and leading US and European business leaders. The agenda included a discussion of the challenges facing European industry, particularly from lower-cost economies in the Far East, and the continuing productivity gap with the US.
The Presidency highlighted the need for a fast agreement to the draft Framework Directive on Services saying that "there are so many barriers in Europe to (...)

Commission launches new initiatives for cooperation on healthcare

The European Commission has launched a response to the High Level Reflection Process on Patient Mobility aimed at clarifying health rights in Europe.
Although healthcare is a national responsibility according to the EU Treaty, there are a number of common challenges, such as the ageing society, increased needs and demands from citizens and rapid technological change. The Commission’s proposals include efforts to promote practical co-operation on the access to healthcare in another Member (...)

Czech nominee for Commissioner appears before the Parliament

The European Parliament held hearings on 13-15 April 2004 for the new Commissioners nominated by the 10 acceeding countries. Mr Pavel Telicka, the Czech Commissioner designate will shadow Commissioner Byrne on the Health and Consumer Protection portfolio.
Mr Telicka confirmed his interest in remaining for the next Commission (2004 - 2009) but said it would be premature to identify a portfolio. He told MEPs that he preferred for DG SANCO to remain intact in the new Commission (2004 - 2009) (...)

European Parliament votes in favour of EU ratification of the FCTC

The European Parliament voted in favour of EU ratification of the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control during the last plenary session in Strasbourg .
The EP recommendation was voted by show of hands by a clear majority of MEPs. The matter will be now dealt with by the Health Council which will meet in Luxembourg on 2nd June.
The June Health Council will be the first formal Council meeting of Health Ministers from all 25 Member States, following enlargement.
Related (...)

IGC Developments - April 2004

At the European Council on 25/26 March 2004, the Irish Presidency provided a Report CIG 70/04 with the result of bilateral meetings with the EU 25 countries, the Commission and the Parliament.
The latest IGC discussions were based on the Italian Presidency proposals for the Brussels summit on 12-13 December 2003 which ended without agreement.
The UK, France and Germany held a trilateral summit on 16 February 2004 and set out their vision of Europe’s role in health.
The Irish (...)

European GMO control network expands

On 30th of April 2004, 24 national enforcement laboratories from the acceding countries have joined the European Network of Genetically Modified Organisms’ (GMO) Laboratories (ENGL).
The ENGL, which previously included 47 control laboratories from Member States will expand to 71 with 24 labs from the Acceding Countries.
An enlarged ENGL will improve the network’s ability to detect and screen GMOs and provide a sound scientific basis for enforcing biotechnology legislation.
The (...)

Health related publications, April 2004

Introduction tour to the European Institutions and EU Decision Making Process
AGE, the European Older People’s Platform, has published an up-dated compilation of the seminar organised in June 2003 with the support of the European Commission to introduce older people’s organisations from acceding countries to the EU.
AGE has also issued its Annual Report 2003.
Convergence with EU Environmental legislation in Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia: A Guide
The European Commission has (...)

Report on the link between science and public health policy

The Wellcome Trust has published a report on the state of public health sciences in the UK and made recommendations on measures to enhance the impact upon the public health.
A working group was convened to address public health sciences and how they relate to public health practice in the inter-related areas of health services, health protection and health improvement.
The report notes that impressive achievements in the biomedical sciences and medical care can obscure the fact that the (...)

EMEA consultation on patient information

The European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA) has released recommendations for improving information for patients. The document was drafted together with stakeholders groups and covers three main areas:
information provision adapted to patients’ needs
developing appropriate communication tools
increasing public awareness on drugs and EMEA’s roles
EPHA has been involved in developing the recommendations on pharmacovigilance.
Patient information has been a key political issue and the (...)