Our Newsletter

Welcome to the April 2008 edition of the EPHA Newsletter.
April was a busy month for health, not only with the packed policy agenda in Brussels (see this month’s articles on the Alcohol Forum, conference on Health literacy and others) but also as health issues were consistently making headlines across Europe.
The developing food crisis is hitting Europe as well as other continents and this has provoked a number of responses, from protectionism in some corners, fierce criticism of (...)

Welcome to the March 2008 edition of the EPHA Newsletter.
This month was the first opportunity to gauge the commitment and priorities of the Health Commissioner-designate. On 1 April, Commissioner Vassiliou appeared before the European Parliament to answer questions from Parliamentarians on the work of her Directorate. It was not an easy hearing: the MEPs were well-prepared and challenging in their questions, particularly on health services, and it was clear that her experience as a (...)

Welcome to the February 2008 edition of the EPHA Newsletter.
This week’s resignation of Commissioner Kyprianou and the announcement that he will be replaced by Androulla Vassiliou as the new Cypriot Commissioner caused a flurry of speculation in Brussels and beyond.
Mrs. Vassiliou will be a welcome addition to the College of Commissioners, and comes with a strong reputation for action and support of civil causes. EPHA would like to thank Commissioner Kyprianou for his hard work under this (...)

Welcome to the January 2008 edition of the EPHA Newsletter.
As public health advocates, we work towards building a society where all individuals enjoy the greatest possible physical and mental health and everyone has the opportunity to participate fully and equally in society.
We are from this ideal today. Health inequalities have grown within EU countries and across the European region. Further afield, without major global efforts it is unlikely that the Millennium Development Goals will (...)

Dear readers, welcome to the December 2007 edition of the EPHA Newsletter. We warmly thank you for having accompanied us along 2007 and wish you happiness and a prosperous New Year.
Fifteen days of sometimes emotional and dramatic negotiations at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ended on 15 December 2007 with the adoption of the Bali Roadmap. This is expected to launch negotiations on a crucial international climate change regime to ensure that the new deal can enter into force (...)

Welcome to the November 2007 edition of the EPHA Newsletter.
As 2007 comes to an end, EU Health Ministers meeting on 5/6 December will have an agenda full of major new issues to discuss. On 23 October 2007, the European Commission published the long awaited EU Health Strategy for 2008-2013. This new framework connects core health issues with an approach to mainstream health across all EU health policies and a focus on the EU role on global health. This more holistic view of the linkages (...)

Welcome to the October 2007 edition of the EPHA Newsletter which is also the opportunity to introduce the new layout of our website. We hope that it will make site easier to read and provide a positive browsing experience. Your comments or feedback on the EPHA website are, as always, very welcome.
The European Commission issued in October 2007 the new EU Health Strategy. The main document is complemented by several papers that develop the broad objectives and actions that the White Paper (...)

Welcome to the September 2007 edition of the EPHA Newsletter.
This month we have read about a conflict of interest from a scientist at the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) who was supposed to give advice on the effect of certain food additives on children, at the same time that she was being paid to research for two companies that may use those additives in their products.
The EFSA Board reacted to the news by announcing the ongoing revision of their transparency policy and the creation (...)

Welcome to the August 2007 edition of the EPHA Newsletter.
The interim evaluation of the Public Health Programme (PHP) 2003-2008 is now available at DG Sanco’s website. The PHP is the funding mechanism of the European Commission. It supports activities such as building networks of organisations working on health issues, coordinating health activities, sharing experiences, and educating and disseminating relevant information and knowledge to improve health through prevention.
The (...)

Welcome to the July 2007 edition of the EPHA newsletter!
EU leaders gathered in Brussels on 21-22 June 2007 to re-launch the debate on the future of Europe. They outlined the mandate of an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) which will draw up a new Treaty by the end of 2007.
Several Member States have joined forces to stop any major transfer of competences to the European Commission (EC). This means that the articles that were negotiated during the European Convention that gave any extra (...)