Our Newsletter

Welcome to the May 2009 Newsletter
As voters go to the polls across the EU, there are more than 10,000 MEP candidates to choose from, representing a huge variety of values, views and opinions about the Europe. The European Parliament elections are an opportunity for citizens to choose the parties and candidates that they want to shape European laws and decision-making over the next five years. However, the election campaigns in most countries have tended to focus on national issues - (...)

Welcome to the April 2009 Newsletter
Towards the end of April all eyes were on Mexico where it was reported that an influenza outbreak had the potential to ignite a pandemic. With the global capacity for a swift and efficient reaction to the health threat under scrutiny, attention in Brussels has focussed on Europe’s role in minimising the severity of the outbreak and its ability to respond to such a health threat in a united and coordinated manner.
Whilst the severity of the outbreak is (...)

Welcome to the Spring 2009 Newsletter
Read all the online articles of our Newsletter for Spring 2009
The first quarter of 2009 has brought rumours and uncertainty to Brussels. Not only is the financial crisis hitting harder than many had hoped, but the immediate future of the institutions is under question with elections and changes in the administration around the corner but no Lisbon Treaty to set the framework.
All eyes look to London this week, where the G20 are meeting. Anger is (...)

Welcome to the Winter 2008-2009 Bumper Edition Newsletter
Read all the online articles of our Newsletter for Winter 2008-2009
This newsletter is in celebration of our 15 year anniversary, as EPHA enters a new phase of public health advocacy and continues to build on its successes as we enter its fifth European Parliament.
The Brussels landscape has changed significantly in the last fifteen years, with new public health groups advocating patient rights and citizens’ issues, as well as (...)

When contemplating our fifteenth anniversary, the EPHA Secretariat thought about which figures and which thinkers have historically been influential in the field of public health, and active in pushing public health issues to the top of the political agenda. The resulting list is both broad and diverse, reflecting our different backgrounds and different convictions. We therefore felt it would interesting to share with our readers....
Public Health Hero - Dr Marc Danzon
Nominated by Jessica (...)

Welcome to the October 2008 Newsletter
As autumn sets in, all eyes are currently on the US with the imminent election of a new head of state for the world’s only superpower. The impact will be felt not only by Americans. The most powerful office in the world has the weight to dictate political and economic policy in Europe and beyond, and the favourite, Barack Obama, will certainly bring some changes to the global health system.
Firstly, US policy on reproductive health should change (...)

Welcome to the September 2008 Newsletter
September has started the legislative year with a busy timetable in Brussels and across Europe. Of course, business-as-usual is overshadowed by the financial crisis and the threat of global recession. Job security is weaker than six months ago, leaving many Europeans facing an inability to repay mortgages or even make ends meet. The drop in pension and wage levels from a European recession threatens millions of families and brings poverty closer for (...)

Welcome to the Summer Newsletter
As Brussels gets ready for the new legislative year, the final one for this Parliament, the public health community is steeling itself for a challenging few months. It is interesting to compare the achievements of this Parliament, and indeed this Commission, to the 1999-2004 session. The public health community were saying goodbye to the leadership of David Byrne and heralding his progress in the tobacco control field. The enlargement of the European Union (...)

Welcome to the June EPHA newsletter.
France took over the EU Presidency on 1 July and President Sarkozy’s grand plans to ’get the EU back on track were immediately derailed by the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by voters in Ireland. The Brussels establishment is still recovering from the defeat, and the institutional future is uncertain.
In June, EPHA organised its Annual General Meeting which was well attended by members and involved lively exchanges of views on governance, strategy and (...)

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 the Slovenian (...)