WTO Cancun Ministerial, September 2003

On the 23rd of May the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) hosted a conference on global food security under the title “Food for Everyone: Towards a Global Deal”. The purpose of the event was to explore and understand the issue of food security and propose solutions supporting the achievement of the MGDs. With close to one billion people worldwide suffering from hunger1, and a much higher number from malnutrition, food security is again placed high on the political (...)

EPHA has submitted its response to the EC consultation on the Green Paper on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy - Towards a more efficient European procurement market. EPHA’s response argues that public procurement rules must be more flexible where public health and social objectives are concerned so that they can be considered at all successive stages of the process. EPHA response to the Consultation on the modernisation of EU public procurement policy - Towards a (...)

The European Parliament works on its position on the reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP). Based on its position on the reform of the CAP, EPHA and EPHAC (the European Public Health and Agriculture Consortium) have made an analysis of the draft reports of the European Parliament The EP draft report on the CAP towards 2020 was pubished by the Committee for Agriculture and Rural Development on Febuary 15. The draft report was prepared by Albert Dess MEP (Germany, EPP). The main (...)

EPHA partner the Smoke Free Partnership is currently looking for people from the public health and tobacco control communities interested in receiving training on taxation and smuggling issues. Training will take place in the context of the TobTaxy Project. It will be given by renowned international tobacco taxation experts in five separate workshops taking place across Europe. The first workshop is in Paris, France (on 6-8 June 2011) and will focus specifically on training individuals on (...)

Operation Sirocco, an anti-fraud operation, was jointly organised by the EU and countries from the Union for the Mediterranean in June 2010. A considerable quantity of counterfeit products has been seized during the successful operation. The anti-fraud operation, "Operation Sirocco" was jointly conducted in June 2010 by the European Union and 11 countries from the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) under the coordination of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF). The objective was to (...)

Following the ’Europe 2020’ Strategy endorsed by Heads of States in March and June 2010, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the future direction of EU trade policy. EPHA contributed to it by highlighting that health cannot be treated like any other business in the EU Trade Policy. EPHA response to the Trade consultation First and foremost, EPHA considers that the EU Trade Policy should complement and reinforce all dimensions of the Europe 2020 (...)

Denmark has today taken further steps towards improving the health of its citizens through a series of tax reforms designed to make "junk food" more expensive. It also goes beyond the European established minimum levels of taxation of products such as alcohol and tobacco. *** Press release - For Immediate Release *** Brussels, 01 July 2010 Today, Denmark increases by 25% taxes on ice cream, chocolate and sweets, as well as increases taxes on soft drinks, tobacco and alcohol products. A (...)

Belgian organisation "Action Platform for Health and Solidarity" organised a conference in the Belgian Senate to debate the impact of European trade policy on public health from a global perspective. This intervenes in a context in which the free trade agreements the European Union is negotiating with countries in the South can threaten the right to health. The Belgian Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence organised a conference on the impact of European trade policy on (...)

As part of its preparation for the United Nations Millennium Development Goals review summit in September 2010, Ministers for Foreign Affairs adopted conclusions to establish a strategic EU policy framework to assist developing countries in addressing food security challenges and humanitarian food assistance. The Council conclusions are part of the overall process of establishing the EU position for the MDG High-level Plenary Meeting to be held in New York in September 2010, which will (...)

Tobacco kills an increasing number of Australians every year. Given that smoking is a preventable cause of death, the Australian government has decided to act in order to reverse this trend. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd marked a step by announcing on 29 April 2010 that the country will mandate the plain packaging of cigarettes. “Cigarettes are not cool, cigarettes kill people. Therefore the government makes no apology whatsoever for what it’s doing. The tobacco companies will hate (...)