EU Funding and programmes

Brussels, 17 May – In a seminar hosted yesterday by the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists & Democrats (S&D) in the European Parliament and the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Alejandro Cercas (S&D, Spain), six MEPs from various political groups (1) along with representatives of governments, leading academics, researches and public health organisations (2) met to raise awareness about one of the most alarming issues that European healthcare systems (...)

When discussing the topic of access to medicines in the context of the economic crisis we have to consider three determinants: affordability and availability, in terms of access to medicines, and innovation in terms of developing new methods of assuring best possible health outcomes. AFFORDABILILTY Usually, health expenditures are mostly covered by public funding and supplemented by private spending. The economic crisis has forced public expending to be cut making patient co-payment (...)

This high level meeting revolved around various political processes linked to the economic crisis. Some of the topics discussed include implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy, as well as pharmaceutical legislation for ensuring that people living in Europe have access to a wide range of quality and affordable medicines. The meeting hosted by Mr Alejandro Cercas, MEP (Spain,S&D) and by the Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament (S&D Group) served to assess the impact (...)

A two-month public consultation (15 April to 15 June 2013) on the World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki on medical research involving human subjects has been launched by the World Medical Association. A revised version of the Declaration is available on the WMA website. This consultation is of particular interest in the context of the ongoing revision of the Clinical Trials legislation. Please click here for detailed information on the consultation process The (...)

Glenis Willmott MEP (S&D, UK) took the initiative to bring together experts to discuss the extent to which more transparency could be workable in non-commercial clinical trials. The debate, which took place in the European Parliament on 10 April, served to present the key arguments for and against increased transparency in the context of administrative and data reporting requirements for academic researchers and patient safety. EPHA’s Position on Clinical Trials urges political (...)

On 19 March 2013 a workshop on medical devices took place in the European Parliament to continue discussions over the legislative proposal presented by the European Commission in September 2012. The workshop was organised by the S&D Group (Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament) and was chaired by the Rapporteur for the Medical Devices report, Dagmar Roth-Behrendt MEP (Germany, S&D). The discussion over the two proposals on Medical (...)

The European Parliament’s committee for Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) held a discussion on Wednesday 20 March 2013 on the amendments submitted to the General Data Protection Regulation. The discussion was held in the presence of the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS), Peter Hustinx, and the chairman of the Article 29 Working Party, Jakob Kohnstamm. Jan Albrecht MEP (Greens/EFA, Germany), rapporteur of the file, opened discussions by informing the Committee (...)

Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived The European Commission (DG Employment) has proposed to set up a European Aid Fund to help the most deprived persons in the EU. A successor to the Food Aid to the Most Deprived, this new Fund would support member state schemes not only by providing food aid to the most deprived people, but also clothing and other essential goods to homeless people and materially-deprived children (such as shoes, soap and shampoo). The proposal is yet to be (...)

The European Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) Committee voted on 20 February to adopt an opinion on the proposed General Data Protection Regulation. The Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) Committee also voted the following day to adopt their own opinion. A total of four committees have now submitted opinions to the Rapporteur, including the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and Legal Affairs committees. The ITRE Committee opinion, drafted by MEP Sean (...)

Negotiations among EU Institutions are about to begin on the future research programme after the adoption of the partial general approach by the Competitiveness Council and the report by the Industry, Research and Enegery Committee in the Parliament. EPHA highlights seven ways in which EU leaders can ensure that investing research and innovation brings the greatest possible advancements in health and science, while creating accessible public goods. In its policy document, EPHA provides (...)