Our Newsletter

Welcome to the February 2012 Newsletter! New Year - Same Challenges As we move into 2012 we pass a milestone. At the half way point of the European Parliament’s mandate and nearing that of Barroso II, 2012 marks a new phase in the Brussels calendar. Now firmly established in their positions, the European Commissioners have yet to prove that they have are willing to take the bold ambitious steps needed if we are to achieve Europe’s vision of a sustainable and promising future. (...)

Welcome to the Winter 2012 Newsletter! This has been a turbulent week in the history of the European Union. Potentially historic treaty changes were agreed, but more importantly there was a split in the Member States leaving the United Kingdom alone out on a limb. European leaders last week met for a crisis summit and left wondering if Europe had changed in a quite fundamental way. It is not only in Brussels that this crisis is rolling out. A state of emergency was recently declared in (...)

Welcome to the November 2011 Newsletter We are in the middle of a crisis such as has not been seen in the majority of our lifetimes with Europe’s currency and symbol of economic union, the Euro, increasingly on the brink of collapse. This situation, which was unthinkable a couple of years, if not months ago, poses massive challenges not only for our leaders, but also for the people living in Europe, many of whom are facing hardship like never before. A recent report published in (...)

Welcome to the October 2011 Newsletter Upon returning from maternity leave this month, it is clear that September has brought the economic crisis much closer to Brussels. Lobbyists and policy-makers alike are waiting and watching discussions on the fate of the Eurozone closely. National austerity and spending cuts are, as expected, hitting home with women particularly affected and health spending too often considered a luxury. Unemployment and an uncertain economic future are steering (...)

Welcome to the September 2011 Newsletter After the summer break, EU activities have already sped up with the upcoming European Commission financial proposals for the period 2014-2020 that have to be prepared before the end of the year. This means increasing opportunities for the public health community to try and get the public health angle into the Common Agriculture Policy or the future Research Framework to name but a few. In addition, specific attention is dedicated to the future (...)

Welcome to the Summer 2011 Newsletter The long-awaited proposal for the the Multiannual Financial Framework has just been released. It sets out the principles under which the EU will be funded for seven year, how it will be funded, why, the priorities and the main budget lines. This promises to be a very heated debate in Brussels until 2014 when it enters into force. The Health community will have to debate on the "Health for Growth Programme" budgeted with a slight increase of funding (...)

Welcome to the May 2011 Newsletter EPHA took several important steps to improving the future of public health policy making in the EU in May: May marked the ending of the EU Consultation consultation on the EU Research and Innovation Funding that will define the future priorities of the next EU Research programme. EPHA submitted a response and called for more funds should be invested in public health research , particularly on health promotion and prevention of chronic diseases. The (...)

Welcome to the April 2011 Newsletter April 2011 saw the successful EPHA Annual General Assembly and the EPHA Annual Conference “Europe 2020 : Delivering a healthy and sustainable future for all ?” Based on theconclusions from the conference, EPHA will develop a series of concrete policy recommendations on how the Europe 2020 could deliver more health equity and social justice for all. One of the messages of the Annual Conference is the important role of the Public Health (...)

March was a month full of excitement and hustle and bustle, for all the Brussels stakeholders as well as for the EPHA office. On 8 March, it was International Women`s Day, which highlighted how around the world, girls, youth and women continue to experience barriers in life related to fear, stigma, violence, and discrimination, which in turn has a negative impact on their health and well-being. There are many sociocultural factors that prevent women and girls from accessing quality health (...)

February was another busy month for the EPHA team as the Secretariat prepares for the EPHA’s 2011 Annual General Assembly which will take place on 13-15 April. Both members and non-members are also invited to attend a public event entitled ’Europe 2020 : Delivering a healthy and sustainable future for all?’ on 14 April 2011 which will focus on health inequalities. The event will include several high level panel debates on the Charter for Health Equity that will be (...)