Newsletter May 2008

Commissioner delays plans to lift poultry ban

Commissioner Verheugen has blocked the procedure of sending the proposal for lift of the poultry ban to the EU agriculture ministers. This mean a decision will be taken in September at the earliest. Background As part of the political debate around chlorine-washed poultry, 21 of 27 European Union Agricultural Ministers on May 19 announced opposition to the European Commission proposal currently being drafted. The proposal is to lift a European Union ban on treating poultry with (...)

EPHA Annual General Assembly 2008 (AGA) and PCM - 19 June 2008

The 2008 Annual General Assembly (AGA) and Policy Coordination Meeting (PCM) took place at North West of England House, Brussels on the 19th of June. The minutes of the AGA are available here. The morning was taken up with approval of the accounts, budget and debates and voting on new members. 7 of the 8 candidate organisations were accepted. Information on new members will be published shortly. At the end of the morning members voted for two new members of the executive committee (ExCo), (...)

Newsletter May 2008

Welcome to the May edition of EPHA’s newsletter. May was a busy month for many members, as well as the EPHA Secretariat, with the deadline of the European Commission’s Call for Proposals occupying many of us with project and operating grant submissions. The month saw a number of health wins in Brussels, with delays in approving the Amflora potato and pesticide-releasing plants. The battle over restrictions on chemicals with severe impacts on health has also been deferred, with (...)

Spotlight on the European Committee for Homeopathy (ECH)

Who are we? The European Committee for Homeopathy (ECH) is the one and only European association of medical doctors and other statutorily registered health professionals in the field of homeopathic medicine. Who do we represent? The ECH represents 37 homeopathic doctors’ associations in 22 European countries as well as many homeopathic veterinarians, dentists and pharmacists in Europe. What is our mission? The ECH aims to promote and defend the quality of the science and medical (...)

Spotlight on the Croatian Association for Sanitary Engineering - Chamber of Sanitary Engineers & Technicians

Who are we? The "Croatian Association for Sanitary Engineering - Chamber of Sanitary Engineers & Technicians", national Professional organization for development of sanitary engineering in the Republic of Croatia. Who do we represent? We represent sanitary engineers and technicians in the Republic of Croatia, i.e. experts in environmental hygiene and professional health. We are the national professional organization for the development of sanitary engineering in the Republic of (...)

Spotlight on the Royal College of Physicians (RCP)

Who are we? Established in 1518, the Royal College of Physicians is an independent body and registered charity that aims to ensure high quality care for patients by promoting the highest standards of medical practice. Who do we represent? The College is a professional membership organisation representing the concerns of over 22,000 Fellows and Collegiate Members worldwide and we provide leadership, support and advocacy for the membership. The College is committed to involving patients (...)

Spotlight on the European Respiratory Society (ERS)

Who are we? Founded in 1990, the European Respiratory Society (ERS) is a not-for-profit, international medical organisation dedicated to lung health and respiratory disease. It is the largest society of its kind in Europe. Who do we represent? The ERS represents 9,000 respiratory professionals worldwide. Doctors make up the majority of the society’s members, but other categories also include nurses, physiotherapists and scientists. Members join to take advantage of the numerous (...)

CAP Health Check goes a step further towards modernisation and simplification

European Commission further modernises and streamlines the Common Agricultural Policy in response to increasing food prices. Reforms remove restrictions and standardise payments. Rural Development to play a larger part in European agriculture. Mariann Fischer Boel (the EU agriculture commissioner) presented a reform package on the 20th of May, in a bid to not only reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) but also to slow down the soaring food prices. The ’Health Check’ is (...)

EURO-PREVOB Project – 17-18 April 2008

EPHA attended the first plenary meeting of the EURO-PREVOB project on 17-18 April in Latvia. EURO-PREVOB is an European Coordination Action project linking science and policy-making to tackle obesity and funded by the European Commission (FP6) (April 2007 – March 2010). The project consists of 13 partners from 10 countries. The purpose of the project is to determine where we are with the European Policies surrounding the obesity epidemic. The project has 4 main aims: (1) bring (...)

Consultation meeting on the 2nd Report on the Application of the Tobacco Products Directive 2001/37/EC - 28 April 2008

The consultation meeting was organised by Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection and was an opportunity for the non-governmental health organisations to have an open discussion and give comments to the Second Report on the Application of the Tobacco products Directive 2001/37/EC, adopted in November 2007. Background The First Report on the application of the tobacco products Directive was adopted on 27 July 2005. The Second Report contains the second assessment of (...)