12.4. Co-ordination mechanisms for EU health
activities
There are several health links with European Commission
general directorates other than D.G. SANCO (Table 12.6).
Table 12.6. Health across the European Commission
|
Directorate General
|
Key Health Links
|
|
AGRI
|
Nutritional aspects in promotional campaigns for EU agricultural
products,
information campaigns on smoking (funded up to 2008)
|
|
AIDCO
|
External aid for health
|
|
BEPA
|
Investing in youth
|
|
COMP
|
Competition rules in health markets
|
|
DEV
|
Health in EC and EU development policy, ACP country and regional
programmes, and thematic programmes for all regions
|
|
EAC
|
Education on healthy lifestyles; Lifelong learning; Young people
and health,
Promotion of sport
|
|
ECFIN
|
Economic projections re: demographic change, healthcare spending
|
|
ECHO
|
Humanitarian aid operations. Access to healthcare in crisis
situations and
rapid response to life-threatening epidemics and other health
hazards.
|
|
ELARG
|
Assisting EU accession countries to put in place the health acquis
|
|
EMPL
|
Safety and Health at work; coordination of Social security schemes
including
the EHIC card; access of people with disabilities to social and
health services;
European Social Fund; Open Method of Coordination on Healthcare
and
Long Term Care
|
|
ENTR
|
Pharmaceuticals; Medical Devices; Biotechnology; Safety of
Cosmetics;
Chemicals; Innovation
|
|
ENV
|
Environmental health e.g. air quality, water quality, noise;
'European Environment and Health Strategy', COM(2003)338, and 'European
Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010', COM(2004)416
|
|
EUROSTAT
|
Data collection in field of health and safety
|
|
INFSO
|
Development and deployment of e-Health tools and services.
|
|
JLS
|
Illegal Drugs; Immigration policy and integration, protection of
personal data
concerning health
|
|
JRC
|
Scientific and Technical Support in areas which may have an impact
on health directly or indirectly (chemicals, air pollution, deteriorated
water quality, food, genetically-modified organisms, nanotechnology, consumer
products.
|
|
MARKT
|
Benefits of Internal market to patients and healthcare providers;
recognition of professional qualifications; Intellectual property rights and
access to medicines; legal framework for public private partnership.
|
|
OLAF
|
trade in tobacco products
|
|
REGIO
|
Regional Policy actions to support health policy, including
through 'Regions
for Economic Change'
|
|
RELEX
|
Relations with third countries, including European Neighbourhood
countries
on health
|
|
RTD
|
RTD Research framework programmes FP6, FP7
|
|
SANCO
|
Public health, consumer policy, food safety, animal health
|
|
SG
|
Coordination policy on Biotech and sustainable development
|
|
TAXUD
|
Policy on enforcement to combat introduction of products with a
health risk
|
|
TRADE
|
Trade negotiations re: Health and social services and services of
health
Professionals
|
|
TREN
|
Road safety, Energy, Ionising radiation, Working and Driving Hours
|
Source: European
Commission
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/health/index_en.htm
Last
Access: 20.02.08
In the early nineties, the European Commission had
established the High Level Committee on Health to enable key representatives
from health Ministries to exchange views and provide strategic advice to
Commission services. Following the mad cow crisis, a portfolio was created for
the first European Commissioner in charge of Health: David Byrne in 1999,
succeeded by Markos Kyprianou in 2004 and Androulla Vassiliou in 2008. Most
health activities were then regrouped in a new Health and Consumer Protection
Directorate General of the Commission (DG SANCO), to cover in particular public
health, animal health and food safety. Other Commission departments continue to
deal with certain aspects of health policies such as:
·
pharmaceuticals
and health products (DG ENTR)
·
e-Health
and Telematics (DG INFSO)
·
health
care for migrant workers, health insurance (DG EMPL)
·
health
research (DG RTD)
·
health
aspects of development aid (DG DEV)
In parallel, the presence and authority of Health
Ministers in Council was reinforced, with the creation of a special Council
formation (EPSCO) in charge of all health related decisions. Similarly, the
work of the European Parliament Committee on Environment and Health became more
focused on health issues. Several committees were progressively set up by DG
SANCO to deal with health security and bio terrorism, the health programme or
to help implement the new Community legislative measures.
In April 2004, the Commission set out its response to the
report of the reflection process in two communications, making proposals for
European co-operation and extending the open method of coordination on
healthcare and long-term care. These activities have been taken forward through
the new High Level Group on Health Services and Medical Care established in July
2004, with regular reports to Council, in several areas:
·
cross-border
healthcare purchasing and provision, and patients’ rights and responsibilities;
·
health
professionals (continuing development and migration within the EU);
·
centres
of reference, that could pool resources, for example on tackling rare
diseases;
·
health
technology assessment, with a network supported by the public health programme;
·
e-health
and information strategies for health services;
·
hospital
performances (waiting time and nosocomial diseases); and
·
patient
safety.
Independent scientific advice plays an important role in
the EU decision-making process. Three Scientific Committees have been
established by DG SANCO to provide scientific advice on non-food related risks
to consumer products, health and the environment, emerging and newly identified
health risks. These Committees have adopted a wide range of opinions covering
possible cancer risks from certain hair dyes, the safety of tooth whitening
agents, the assessments of possible risks from nanotechnologies; several key
opinions were finalised after a wide consultation on the Internet.
In many sectors where health and safety of patients,
consumers or workers is at stake, EU agencies were created to advise European Institutions
and Member States on health related measures, or to collect and disseminate
relevant information for health policy makers (Table 12.7). Working as
technical secretariats rather than big centralised bodies, these agencies are
generally able to mobilise a significant number of scientists across Europe.
In addition, there is a growing interest in collaboration
among member states and between these and the European bodies for what concerms
independent scientific advise on border-crossing health issues. In this
context, for example, the Science Advice Network for Health (EuSANH) was
established in 2006.
Table
12.7. Community
agencies directly relevant to health
|
Abbreviation
|
Agency
|
Mission/Role
|
|
EAHC
|
Executive
Agency for Health and Consumer (Luxembourg city, Luxembourg) – Established in
2005
http://ec.europa.eu/eahc
|
Formerly
PHEA, Public Health Executive Agency. The Agency provides professional service in performing the
tasks entrusted to it by the European Commission, and it works closely with Directorate General for Health and Consumers.
The EAHC manages relations with some 2200 beneficiaries involved in more than
200 projects in the field of health; it has about 40 staff members based in
Luxembourg.
|
|
ECDC
|
European
Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (Stockholm, Sweden) – Established
in 2005
http://www.ecdc.europa.eu
|
To
identify, assess and communicate current and emerging threats to human health
posed by infectious diseases.
|
|
ECHA
|
European
Chemicals Agency (Helsinki, Finland) – Established in 2007
http://echa.europa.eu/
|
To
manage and carry out technical, scientific and administrative aspects of
REACH (an EC regulation on the safe use of chemicals, No 1907/2006) and to
ensure consistency at Community level in relation to these aspects To provide
the Member States and the institutions of the Community with the best
possible scientific and technical advice on questions relating to chemicals
which fall under REACH
To
manage IT based guidance documents, tools and data bases To support national
helpdesk and run a helpdesk for registrants To make information on chemicals
publicly accessible
|
|
EEA
|
European
Environment Agency (Copenhagen, Denmark) - Established in 1990
http://www.eea.europa.eu
|
To
support sustainable development and to help achieve significant and
measurable improvement in Europe's environment through the provision of
timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to policy making agents
and the public.
|
|
EFSA
|
European
Food Safety Authority (Parma, Italy) - Established in 2002
http://www.efsa.europa.eu
|
To
provide objective scientific advice on all matters with a direct or indirect
impact on food and feed safety, contribute to a high level of protection of
human life and health through taking account of animal health and welfare,
plant health and the environment, in the context of the operation of the
internal market.
|
|
EMCDDA
|
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
(Lisbon, Portugal) - Established
in 1993
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu
|
To
provide the Community and its Member States with objective, reliable and
comparable information at European level concerning drugs and drug addiction
and their consequences.
|
|
EMEA
|
European Medicines Agency (London, UK) - Established in 1995
http://www.emea.europa.eu
|
To
foster scientific excellence in the evaluation and supervision of medicines,
for the benefit of public and animal health.
|
|
ESA
|
European
Space Agency (Paris - France) – Established in 1975
http://www.esa.int
|
To
ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens
of Europe and the world, including satellite technology which can help to
provide the information needed to manage the environment, understand and
mitigate the effects of climate change, and ensure civil security for Europe.
|
|
EUROFOUND
|
European
Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin,
Ireland) – Established in 1975
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu
|
To
provide information, advice and expertise – on living and working conditions,
industrial relations and managing change in Europe – for key actors in the
field of EC social policy on the basis of comparative information, research
and analysis.
|
|
EU-OSHA
|
European
Agency for Safety and Health at Work (Bilbao, Spain) - Established in 1993 http://www.osha.europa.eu
|
To
make Europe's workplaces safer, healthier and more productive by bringing
together and sharing knowledge and information, and by promoting a culture of
risk prevention.
|
|
FRA
|
European
Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (Vienna, Austria) – Established in 1975
http://www.fra.europa.eu
|
To
collect information and data, provide advice to the European Union and its
Member States, and promote dialogue with civil society to raise public
awareness of fundamental rights. Article 35 of the Charter of Fundamental
Rights enshrines the right to healthcare.
|
The “health in other policies” objective is achieved
through quarterly meetings of the Commission Inter-service Group on Health,
chaired by the director for public health, and very well attended by many other
Commission departments. Several subgroups were created to deal with
international affairs, nutrition, health and environment, pandemic threats.
Specific and constant links have been made by DG SANCO
with Health Research activities, with a budget of € 6 billion under the 7th
Framework Programme (2007/2013), with DG Employment on health insurance and
health care issues and With DG information Society on e-Health and the
reliability of health information on the Web. Pharmaceuticals is another area
of close involvement with DG Enterprise and the European Medicines Agency
(EMEA) on the development of vaccines, anti-virals and on antimicrobial
resistance, on the evaluation of new medicines and the launch in 2006 of the
Pharmaceutical Forum to better combine competitiveness and health objectives.
A list of financial community instruments relevant for
health is provided in Table 12.8.
Table 12.8. Financial community instruments relevant for health
|
DG
|
Financial instrument
|
|
AGRI
|
Nutrition aspects of promotion campaigns under CAP; Tobacco Fund
information campaigns (ending 2008)
|
|
DEV
|
Development cooperation instrument, European development fund
|
|
EAC
|
Lifelong Learning Programme (2007-2013)
Youth programme
|
|
ECHO
|
Humanitarian aid operations
|
|
ELARG
|
Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance – IPA
Technical Assistance and Information Exchange Instrument – TAIEX
|
|
EMPL
|
European Social Fund (2007-2013), projects/actions under the
Safety and Health at Work Strategy 2007-2012
|
|
ENTR
|
Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) (2007-13)
|
|
ENV
|
LIFE - supporting environmental and nature conservation projects
|
|
EUROSTAT
|
Statistical Programme
|
|
INFSO
|
eTEN Programme (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/eten/index_en.htm);
Competitiveness and Innovation Programme, Ambient Assisted Living Programme (http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/einclusion/research/aal/index_en.htm)
|
|
JLS
|
Programme Security and Safeguarding Liberties
Framework programme on Solidarity and the management of migration
flows
Drugs Prevention and Information Programme (Council Common
position July 2007)
Daphne III (combating violence against women, young people and
children)
|
|
OLAF
|
Hercules programme
|
|
REGIO
|
Regional Policy programmes co-financed with the European Regional
Development Fund (2007-2013)
|
|
RELEX
|
European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument including
|
|
RTD
|
Research Framework Programmes FP6, FP7 ( research on health and
treatment including public health and health systems, food safety, eHealth,
Innovative Medicines Initiative, actions related to global health, road
safety)
|
|
SANCO
|
Programme of Community Action in the field of Public Health
(2003-2008)
Programme for Community Action in the field of Health (2008-2013)
Programme of Community action in the field of consumer policy
(2007-2013)
Council Decision of 26 June 1990 on expenditure in the veterinary
field
(90/424/EEC)
|
|
TAIEX
|
Development and Cooperation Instrument (DCI), Stability Instrument
(SI), Humanitarian Assistance Instrument, and other thematic instruments
including 'Investing in People', 'Cooperation with Non-State Actors', etc.
|
|
TREN
|
Intelligent Energy Europe, actions under the EURATOM Framework
Programmes (radiation protection)
|
