Newsletter December 2004

EPHA vacancy for an Administrator

The recruitment process has been finalised in March 2005.
EPHA is recruiting an Administrator for its Brussels based Secretariat.
The role of the Administrator: To contribute to the effective and efficient administration of EPHA. Specifically, to manage the day-to-day administration and finance system of the EPHA office in Brussels and to provide support for the other NGOs sharing the office facilities.
Specific tasks:
Information
act as first point of contact for telephone (...)

World AIDS Day 2004: EPHA members in action

World AIDS Day 2004 focuses on women, girls, and HIV and AIDS. Figures show that globally females are becoming infected with HIV at a faster rate than males, a change from the early years of the pandemic.
On the occasion of World AIDS Day, UNAIDS and WHO launched the AIDS epidemic update 2004 on 23 November. With maps and regional summaries, the 2004 edition of the annual report provides the most recent estimates of the epidemic’s scope and human toll, explores new trends in the epidemic’s (...)

**UPDATED**Commission launches consultation on Air Quality

Following its consultation on air quality, the European Commission has published an EU thematic strategy on air quality and ambient air quality legislation.
EPHA, EPHA Environment Network and the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA) are calling the European Parliament to take a strong leadership role on that dossier.
The three organisations remind MEPs in the attached letter that according to the European Commission’s own Impact Assessment, (...)

Executive Agency for the EU Public Health Programme

On 15 December, the European Commission set up an executive agency to carry out tasks relating to the management of the Community programme in the field of public health (2003-2008).
A cost-benefit study carried out by the Commission showed that the executive agency would be a more economical mean of improving the effectiveness of the way in which the public health programme is implemented. This study has not been published so far.
The Commission wants to capitalise on the technical work (...)

EU Presidencies until 2020

EU member states met on 13 December 2004 and reached political agreement on provisions concerning the exercise of the Council Presidency including the order of Presidencies from 2007 to 2020.
The current provision runs out at the end of 2006 with Luxembourg, the UK, Finland and Austria still to come.
The Council set out the order of Presidencies of the Council as from 1 January 2007 and laid down certain modalities concerning arrangements among Member States for the exercise of the (...)

European Court validates ban on ’Snus’

Following a legal challenge of Directive 2001/37/EC on the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco products, the European Court of Justice ruled on 15 December 2004 that the prohibition on the marketing of tobacco products for oral use is valid.
The Court stated that the existence of obstacles in the internal market in those products authorised the Community legislator to intervene and such a prohibition was not disproportionate to the objective of health protection.
The Directive (...)

Hungarian public health official first director of ECDC

NGO involvement on the ratification of new Treaty

As part of the Act4europe campaign, the Civil Society Contact Group is preparing a handbook for NGOs on the ratification of the Constitutional Treaty.
The handbook will include sectoral assessments of the final text by the Contact Group members and information on what the state of play is in the different Member States.
There will be a section on national NGO views on the ratification process in their Member States, and the involvement of NGOs in the process: whether/how you are organising (...)

Health Council discusses AIDS, nutritional claims and zoonotic diseases

Health ministers met on 6 December in Brussels, under the chairmanship of Hans Hoogervorst, the Dutch Minister for Health, Welfare and Sport.
The agenda included the debate on European strategy against HIV/AIDS, initial exchange of views on paediatric medicines, a review of progress on the draft Regulation on nutrition and health claims made on foods, and the adoption of Council conclusions on zoonotic diseases.
Fight against HIV/AIDS
In line with the Commission working paper and the (...)

The EU and the World AIDS Day 2004

Commissioners Markos Kyprianou and Louis Michel spoke about the EU actions to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the occasion of World AIDS Day 2004, which was dedicated to “Women, girls and HIV and AIDS”.
Speaking at the European Parliament, Commissioner Kyprianou re-stated that “the Commission is addressing the HIV/AIDS issue both within and outside the EU. Together with the Member States [the EU is] the biggest contributor to the Global Fund, which is the main financial (...)

EU split on genetically modified products

Genetically modified maize
Following a meeting of Regulatory Committee on 29 November 2004, the Committee decided to pass on to the Council of Ministers the decision about the import and processing of the genetically modified maize known as MON 863.
The Committee, set up under the Directive on the deliberate release into the environment of GMOs and bringing together representative of Member States, did not reach the qualified majority necessary to support the Commission proposal to (...)

Eight central European countries to promote Roma inclusion

Eight Central European Countries have launched the project Decade of Roma Inclusion in Sofia (Bulgaria) on 2 February 2005.
The project is sponsored by the Open Society Institute and the World Bank, and it is also supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the European Commission.
Running from 2005 up to 2015, it aims at improving social inclusion and economic status of Roma people. Health condition is on top of the agenda.
Roma Health Data
More than seven million (...)

OECD guidelines on work/family life balance

The third volume of the OECD series of reports, "Babies and Bosses", was published at the end of October 2004.
The series reviews policies in OECD countries to help parents reconcile work and family commitments and recommends a range of measures to improve results.
Declining fertility rates are a concern in most countries, particularly in Japan, where birth rates are dropping as more people put jobs before childbearing. In Switzerland, as many as 40% of women at age 40 with university (...)

Examining the links between income, health and equity

The Canadian Institute for Health Information has published a review of research on income inequality and health with particular reference to the US and Canada.
Epidemiologists and social scientists around the world have long been interested in studying the relationship between income distribution and health. Entitled What Have We Learned Studying Income Inequality and Population Health the report reviews the chronology of studies on income inequality and health, explores some of the (...)

Report highlights discrimination against Roma, Gypsies and Travellers

The treatment of Roma, Gypsies and Travellers "has become one of the most pressing political, social and human rights issues facing Europe" according to a new European Commission report entitled "The Situation of Roma in an Enlarged EU".
Examining the conditions Roma, Gypsies and Travellers face in a range of fields, including education, employment, housing and healthcare, the report sets out both good and bad practice in policies and programmes for Roma.
There is limited data of (...)

EU Drugs Strategy (2005-2012)

The European Council of 17 December adopted the Drugs strategy 2005-2012, which will be included in the Hague Programme for the development of the EU’s area of freedom, security and justice.
The Strategy builds on the EU Drugs Strategy 2000-2004 and Action Plan on Drugs 2000-2004 as well its 2002 Mid-Term Review
To facilitate practical implementation, there will be two consecutive Action Plans on Drugs, based on the new Strategy, describing specific interventions and actions.
The (...)

CPME position on the Services Directive

On 12 November 2004, the Standing Committee of European Doctors adopted a position statement on the Draft Directive on Services in the Internal Market.
The position notes the opportunities for opening up freedoms for patients, consumers and professionals are welcomed. CPME supports the idea of the draft directive to the extent that migration and cross-boarder services of physicians should be facilitated as long as concerns about public safety and quality of services are observed. (...)

The Kok report outlines what went wrong with the Lisbon Strategy

Wim Kok, former Prime Minister of The Netherlands, presented Facing the Challenge, the report of the High Level Group on the Lisbon strategy that he chaired. The report concludes that the disappointing delivery of the strategy has been due primarily to a lack of determined political action. The agenda has been overloaded, coordination has been poor and there have been conflicting priorities.
The report calls for determined action to be taken urgently across five key policy areas:
The (...)

EU report: deregulation does not improve efficiency of healthcare systems

The 2004 edition of the European Competitiveness Report has a key theme of the role of government policies in influencing competitiveness with specific reference to efficiency concerns in healthcare provision.
The health sector’s output is about 7 per cent of EU-15 GDP and, consequently, its efficiency is ultimately reflected in the aggregate productivity data. Current healthcare systems in the EU countries are characterized by diversity in both the funding and delivery of healthcare. The (...)