Date: 9 - 10 June 2008
Venue: Luxembourg
EPSCO is a European Council formation, whose regular meetings take place a maximum of four times per year. On the first day of its meeting, EPSCO usually focuses on employment, social policy and consumer affairs, while on the second day it turns its attention on health issues.
In addition to current legislative proposals, the agenda for meetings will foreseeably cover proposals for Council decisions on the efficient implementation of health strategy, reducing the burden of diseases such as cancer, and antimicrobial resistance.
PRESS RELEASE 2
At today’s meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) in Luxembourg, EU Health Ministers adopted conclusions on implementing the EU Health Strategy presented by the European Commission in October last year. The key to achieving strategy goals and resolving other important strategic issues is intensified structured cooperation between the Council and the Commission. According to the Council President, Slovenian Health Minister Zofija Mazej Kukovič, “The increased commitment of the EU Member States and the Council to the area of health in the EU and in issues with an impact on health and health systems as well as closer cooperation with the Commission would mean real added value for the EU Member States. It would also ensure the integration of health into all policies.”
The ministers confirmed the proposal on reworking the mandate of the high-level group on health care drafted by the Slovenia Presidency in cooperation with the EU Member States. Through appropriate high-level representation of the Member States and the European Commission, this body would enable discussions on strategic matters related to health and healthcare systems, determine priority tasks, objectives and necessary actions at the EU level and monitor their implementation. Through its working methods and mandate, the group on health care would thus assist the Council in implementing its strategic role of addressing and defining key health issues at EU level.
In future, the European Commission is expected to actively support this strategic cooperation with appropriate contributions from all the sectors that may impact on health. At the same time, the Commission undertook to examine existing structures in the area of health and determine criteria for rationalising these structures to avoid the duplication of efforts and ensure efficiency.
At their meeting, the Council of Ministers also adopted conclusions on information to patients on medicinal products. The Council President, Slovenian Health Minister Zofija Mazej Kukovič, commented, “The Council conclusions seek to express the common position of the EU Member States on providing information to patients on medicinal products”, adding that, once the conclusions were adopted, she had therefore proposed a political debate aimed at identifying how to effectively distinguish medicinal information and advertising.
The ministers were unanimous in considering that information on medicines to which patients had access must be high in quality, objective, reliable, complete, understandable and non-promotional. The ban on advertising prescription medicines should be maintained, and interpretations and definitions as to what distinguished medicine-related advertising and information should be harmonised.
The ministers also mentioned the urgent need to develop models enabling activities in this field to be monitored and supervised, and the need to reduce the current differences between EU Member States in terms of the accessibility of information on medicines to patients.
PRESS RELEASE 1
Today (10. 6.2008) in Luxembourg, the Minister of Health of the Republic of Slovenia, Zofija Mazej Kukovič, chaired the second day of the meeting of the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO). The EU Ministers of Health adopted Council conclusions on the reduction of the burden of cancer, in which they called upon the Member States to develop and implement comprehensive strategies for cancer control. Such strategies should include “disease prevention, early detection, high-quality treatment, psychosocial support, rehabilitation and palliative care,” emphasised the current Council President, Slovenian Health Minister Zofija Mazej Kukovič. Following a successful expert conference on the subject, Slovenia has thus achieved a political commitment on the part of the Member States to reducing the burden of cancer.
The ministers’ discussions once again highlighted the great importance of prevention. At least one third of cancers can be prevented. In the conclusions, the ministers call for the further development and implementation of actions in the field of health promotion and disease prevention with a view to reducing the exposure of individuals to key risk factors such as smoking, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and harmful and dangerous consumption of alcohol.
The debates on reducing the burden of cancer held during the Slovenian Presidency will have a considerable influence on the work of the European Commission downstream. The Commission is expected to draw up an action plan on cancer control in the EU including all the aspects of comprehensive cancer control. Implementation of the action plan will help reduce not only the burden of cancer but also that of many other chronic diseases. This was also a goal set by the Republic of Slovenia in the area of health when taking over the EU Council Presidency.
In addition, the EU Health Ministers adopted Council conclusions on antimicrobial resistance, an issue to which Slovenia has paid particular attention. The excessive and erroneous use of antibiotics has encouraged the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and other micro-organisms. As a result, today, we are faced with the problem that certain traditional treatments have lost their efficacy which poses a serious threat to public health worldwide as well as in Europe.
In the conclusions adopted today, the Council calls upon the Member States to establish structures and earmark funds for implementing the 2002 Council recommendations on the prudent use of antimicrobial agents in human medicine and to continue to carry out special strategies aimed at the management of antimicrobial resistance.
The Member States should further promote the prudent use of antibiotics through programmes raising the awareness of the general public, medical practitioners, health professionals, health professionals in the veterinary sector, including veterinary surgeons, involving credible, scientifically-supported evidence-based messages and actions, including information on the risks of inappropriate use and self-medication.
The Council called upon the European Commission to support research in the area of antimicrobial resistance and, in line with the Health in All Policies approach, to promote further cooperation among all Directorates-General and relevant agencies and to facilitate cooperation between Member States in all aspects of managing antimicrobial resistance.
The Slovenian initiative on controlling antimicrobial resistance has triggered more in-depth discussions on this burning issue and has thus achieved the Presidency’s set objective. The European Commission and the upcoming EU Presidency countries have already confirmed that antimicrobial resistance will be included among their priorities in the future.
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