European Public Health Alliance September Newletter
Welcome to the September Newsletter
September in Brussels marks the end of the slow summer and thebeginning of a new legislative year, and the European Parliament hasrestarted its work on several dossiers of great importance for publichealth. Although the Lisbon Treaty will be in implementation for almosta year in December, there are still first time happenings in Brussels.For example, at the September Plenary in Strasbourg, President of theEuropean Commission Jose Barroso gave his first ‘State of the Union’address to Members of Parliament, and although he spoke of the economiccrisis, the entire social dimension of the crisis was overlooked.Meanwhile, the Brussels community is waiting for Commission proposalson several flagship initiatives, such as resource efficiency,industrial policy, skills and jobs, and the fight against poverty. Thiscomes in light of the “Youth on the Move” initiative and Member Statespreparing their National Reform Programmes.
With thesedevelopments, work continues on the EU budget. In spring, theCommission released its proposed 2011 budget. Although there are nohuge cuts in health and social spending, we need to make sure thatpoliticians continue to finance these two important areas. Without thehealth and well-being of Europeans, we will not achieve our 2020 goals.The discussions for the next framework programme, FP8, and the nextpublic health programme have already begun and there is a need for thepublic health community and other actors in civil society to have theirvoices heard.
Another priority for the Commission in 2010 thatwill have an important impact on future legislation is the SmartRegulation. Over the summer, the Civil Society Contact Group, under theinitiative of EPHA, sent out a letter to Jose-Manuel Barroso as afollow-up to the Consultation on the Smart Regulation. In the letterthe members of the Civil Society Contact group urged Mr Barroso to keeppublic interest at the centre of the better regulation agenda in orderto maintain the confidence of the European population, to achieveEurope’s objectives and to meet the Treaty’s obligations,decision-making. The current approach puts too much emphasis onconditions to improve competitiveness in economic sectors without dueattention to the public interest, including health and well-being. InSeptember, the Civil Society Contact Group received a response from DGSecretariat General. The Commission reassured the group that many ofthe issues raised will be addressed in the Commission Communication onSmart Regulation that will be released before the end of the year. Theresponse emphasises that a balanced approach must be taken to theeconomy, to society and the environment. The Commission services aretaking steps to deepen the analysis of social impacts.
After twoyears of no action, the EU Health Workforce is being discussed again bypolicy-makers. This comes after urging from the public healthcommunity, MEP support or a written declaration and a MinisterialConference devoted to the topic. From May to September 2010, theWritten Declaration on the Health Workforce obtained 182 signaturesfrom MEPs working in various committees and coming from across partylines. The Written Declaration helped spur political debate and broughtattention to the issue of health professionals, prior to theMinisterial Conference on the Health Workforce in early September. TheBelgian Presidency organised a Ministerial Conference as a response toMember States experiencing common challenges in ensuring and retaininga sufficient health workforce for their changing and growing healthneeds. Major progress has also been made on the dossier of patientrights in cross-border healthcare as the Council of the European Unionadopted a position on a draft directive concerning the application ofpatients’ rights in cross-border healthcare. This follows an agreementbrokered by European health ministers, at a meeting of the Employment,Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) in June2010. Ending the Council block from December 2009, and the new positionand agreement reflect a renewed sense of collaboration on the issue.
Breakthroughshappened in other EU policy areas, in particular transparency - BelgianForeign Minister Steven Vanackere had asked the Council’s Committee ofPermanent Representatives to "review" plans to establish a singleregister for all three institutions, in the light of the Commission’srenewed request for it to join the initiative. The Commission and theEuropean Parliament are attempting to establish a common register ofinterest representatives, which civil society organisations have beencalling for a while, which is expected to become operational in June2011. This new development has been hailed by European ParliamentVice-President Diana Wallis. This review happens after the EU lobbyregister hit 3000 entries in early September up from 2300 entries inthe beginning of the 2010.
With the hustle and bustle of ‘LaRentree’ in Brussels, the public health community will continue to workon ensuring that the EU budget meets EU citizens` needs and EU policyremains independent and remains in the interest of public. This monththere has been a lot of progress made, but at the same time there ismuch work to be done. For transparency in the EU, the smarterregulation agenda, and the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy,it cannot be ‘business as usual.’
Monika Kosinska, Secretary General, Brussels
16th Oct. 2010