- Check against delivery -
I am happy to have the opportunity to participate in today's meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. It is a very special pleasure for me to be able to greet the delegates of the new Member States: Romania and Bulgaria. I wish you the greatest possible success as representatives of the citizens of the European Union!
Allow me to begin by presenting to you the programme and objectives of the German Presidency in the area of health policy. The agenda for the coming half year contains a number of projects the success of which is contingent upon good co-operation between the Council and the European Parliament. The main reason for my being here today is therefore to have a frank discussion about how we can best push forward the EU's health policy aims together. I warmly invite you to approach me with your questions and ideas!
Germany's Presidency comes at a time in which basic orientation is necessary in the European Union. It is a question of clarifying unresolved issues of European co-operation. It is incumbent on all of us to convince our citizens of the advantages offered by the European Union. We can succeed if we are able to show concrete results which produce a direct added value for our citizens.
The rejection of the European Constitution in two referendums is blamed on the European Union's lack of social appeal. However, precisely health policy is able to offer important starting points in this regard. A smoothly functioning cross-border health care system and safe medicinal products make Europe's added value into something palpable.
Our health policy programme for the Presidency has consequently been placed under three main headings: innovation, prevention and access to health care services.
At this point, I wish to stress that, for the first time, we are embarking on a programme which covers an 18-month period and therefore three presidencies. We wish to thank the Portuguese and Slovenian colleagues of the Triple Presidency who elaborated essential elements of the programme with us. They will be taking up the baton and furthering the work we have begun together.
Our first heading is 'Innovation' – a basic component of any successful health policy. With a health care system based on the latest scientific knowledge, we are better able to meet patients' needs, on the one hand, and are able to provide essential economic impetus for the achievement of the Lisbon goals, on the other.
We will be demonstrating this in our conference programme with two conferences. The 'ehealth week' from 16th to 20th April in Berlin, for example, will be presenting the diverse telematics activities conducted by the Member States. The aim here is to identify possible solutions for cross-border, interoperable processes and Europe-wide electronic services.
A conference on pharmaceutical innovation to be held in Bonn in June 2007, will be dealing, above all, with the exciting developments in personalised medicine. We hope that the results of this conference will be taken up by the Pharmaceutical Forum in which you Ms. Roth-Behrendt, Ms. Grossetête and Mr. Chatzimarkakis, participate on behalf of the European Parliament. But most of all, we are seeking your collaboration to push forward the regulatory projects on advanced therapies and medical devices and, if possible, bring them to a successful conclusion. The latter is also a complex topic which stands for innovation in health care.
Our second headline is 'prevention'. Preventing disease takes precedence over the treatment of disease and is the necessary response to the challenges our health care system will be facing in the future. The rising costs brought on by demographic change can only be controlled by Europe's health care systems if we manage – with the aid of a successful prevention policy – to permanently change people's attitudes and behaviour.
An increasingly important field of prevention is the promotion of healthy lifestyles and thus, of essential importance, the promotion of healthy nutrition and physical activity. A high-level conference in Badenweiler from 25th to 27th February will be presenting new approaches and seeking to improve European exchange on this topic.
During our Presidency, I also wish to award special attention, in the context of prevention, to the control of communicable diseases, whereby AIDS prevention requires a place of prominence. With the participation of important societal groups, a ministerial conference to be held in Bremen on 12th and 13th March will be focusing especially on the question of how civil society can be more effectively involved in AIDS prevention.
Our third headline is 'access to health care services'. The envisaged regulations of the European Commission on cross-border health care services in Europe constitute, in my opinion, the most important (legislative) project in the area of European health policy to be undertaken in the years to come. We wish to hold a political discussion on it at the Informal Council of Health Ministers in Aachen on 19th and 20th April 2007.
Permit me now to go into a bit more detail about the individual projects comprising the working programme scheduled for the next half year. I will begin with the envisaged legislative projects. In this regard, I am optimistic that the Parliament and the Council will be able to collaborate with one another as successfully as they did on the Regulation on Medicinal Products for Paediatric Use which will be entering into force in a few days time.
The draft regulation on 'advanced therapies' is meant to achieve a uniform level of protection, throughout the EU, in respect of the quality and safety of innovative medicinal products. However, a sensitive approach is called for as the health systems of the Member States still differ considerably in this area.
The German Presidency is aiming for an agreement at the earliest possible opportunity. In the course of an intensive dialogue with the Member States on the one hand, the European Parliament and your rapporteur, Mr. Mikolášik, on the other, we want to quickly identify common ground and possibilities for compromise in an effort to achieve this, admittedly ambitious, goal. Should this not prove possible, we will have to continue to search for solutions together with the European Parliament on the basis of a political agreement at the Council of Health Ministers on 31st May 2007.
At this point, I wish to mention only briefly the ethical issues which have also led to a series of amendment proposals from Member States on this Committee. Questions of this type are viewed very differently in the various Member States.
The Council, however, is in agreement that this area should not be regulated at European level but should be left to the discretion of the individual Member States according to the principle of subsidiarity. The Commission also takes a line which goes in this direction.
The revision of the Medical Device Directives is another important legislative project. The envisaged improvements in the area of clinical trials and the authorisation procedures, will increase patient safety. Here, too, we see an opportunity to achieve a political agreement with the European Parliament in the first reading. However, this will require a high degree of willingness to compromise on the part of all who are involved. At this point, I especially wish to thank the rapporteur, Dr. Ulmer, with whom we already have intensive contact, for this dossier.
The German Presidency will discuss the compromise proposals elaborated in the Council working group on the topics that remain controversial such as 'the re-processing of single-use medical devices' and the 'prohibition of dangerous substances in medical devices', in informal tri-partite talks with the European Parliament and the Commission.
The new Community programme of action in the field of health is an instrument of vital importance in implementing the Community's health policy objectives by means of concrete projects and action. In this context, we can build on the intensive negotiations which have already been held on the new programme. A political agreement on the programme of action was already reached in the Council in November of last year. We share the Parliament's view, which was substantially shaped by the rapporteur, Professor Trakatellis, that better results can continue to be achieved in the future through separate programmes for health, on the one hand, and consumer protection on the other. Also with regard to the key programme priorities, the Council and the Parliament toe the same line. Concerning the question of funding from the budget, it is my hope that a solution can be found which satisfies both the Council and the European Parliament.
We will continue to pursue the adoption, at the earliest possible opportunity, of the Council Recommendation on the prevention of injury and the promotion of safety.
In this context, I would like to thank the European Parliament and, above all, you, Ms. Sinnott, as rapporteur, for the swift submission of your report. It provides exceedingly valuable suggestions for the work of the Council's committees and working groups and constitutes the basis of the deliberations currently being held in the Council Working Group on Health.
Now, to those projects which – at least at present – do not involve legislative work, but which, nonetheless, are on a par with the others in terms of impact and significance.
The Community Framework for Health Care Services announced by the Commission for 2007, is another important topic for our Council Presidency. Germany has set its sights on contributing to having the Member States arrive at a clear stance in the coming months. To this end, we already conducted the conference in Potsdam on 15th and 16th January 2007 on 'The Social Dimension in the Internal Market – Perspectives of Health Care in Europe'.
I am delighted that Members of the European Parliament also contributed to this conference's success. I wish to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Bowis for his contribution on patient mobility. He showed us clearly, once again, that today's patients in Europe rightly expect further improvements in health care, for example, with respect to waiting times. With this approach, we can reach our citizens and bring home to them, in a practical manner, the advantages and opportunities offered by our united Europe.
We plan to have a more detailed discussion of this topic at the Informal Council of Health Ministers on 19th and 20th April in Aachen. With this discussion, we would like to do our part so that the Commission can elaborate the proposal on a Community Framework as cognisant as possible of the ideas and expectations of the Member States regarding such a Community Framework for Health Services.
It is thanks to the European Parliament – and I wish to emphasise this fact – that we now have an opportunity to adopt regulations specifically tailored to health care services. I hope that the ENVI Committee will decisively shape the debate within the European Parliament on this topic which is of such great significance for the provision of health care to Europe's citizens.
One topic which is particularly dear to my own heart is the prevention and control of HIV/ AIDS. With the Ministerial Conference 'Responsibility and Partnership – Together against AIDS' in March, we are seeking primarily to draw attention to the meaningful role played by civil society and the urgent need for political leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS. AIDS can only be successfully combated by working hand in hand with a functioning civil society.
How prominent the HIV/AIDS topic is on the agenda of the German Presidency can be seen from the fact that the Federal Chancellor will be holding the key note speech at the conference. I am very optimistic – after numerous preliminary talks – that, in Bremen, the Health Ministers of the European Union and the neighbouring countries will be endorsing their shared will to tackle the spread of this scourge at the highest political level and help to mitigate its destructive consequences.
This epidemic does not stop at national borders, and this is why close co-operation with all of the European Union's neighbours, who have also been invited to the conference, is of supreme importance. We are aware of the successful measures in HIV/AIDS control and are in agreement as regards the significance of prevention, access to treatment, respect for the human rights of those affected and those at risk of HIV/AIDS, of a Europe-wide surveillance, the intensification of research on vaccines and on the microbicides which are so important, not only for the women of the Third World, and – last but not least – of coordinated monitoring of our strategies.
It is with great concern that we are observing a problem that has arisen in some of our countries with the distribution channels for medicines needed to treat HIV/AIDS. The existing systems to prevent trade diversions must be further refined with a view to making the distribution channels safe and enabling more medicines to be available at a reduced price.
I am also looking forward to being able to rely on the collaboration of your committee and it gave me great satisfaction to hear how you, Mr. Andrejevs, as rapporteur, assess the options for action in the context of HIV/AIDS control. We have already had the opportunity to exchange views personally and I see a great deal of agreement in our assessment of the situation.
Regarding the results of the Bremen conference, we would like to put forward Council conclusions for adoption by the Council of Health Ministers at its meeting on 31st May 2007.
Prevention policy is another topic on which we wish to place emphasis. All of the Member States are confronted with the fact that chronic disease is on the rise. Such diseases are decisively influenced by a person's lifestyle. Ms. Ries, your report on the 'Green Paper on the Promotion of Healthy Nutrition and Physical Activity' throws a spotlight on the entire dimension of the problem and clearly indicates where the promising policy approaches lie.
At the conference to be held in February – 'Prevention for Health. Nutrition and Physical Activity – a Key to Healthy Living' – we plan to discuss possible policy approaches and develop joint recommendations.
We take it for granted that the communication on 'Nutrition and Health' announced by the Commission will take up these reflections and propose suitable initiatives.
The risk of an influenza pandemic persists unabated. Consequently, efforts continue to improve pandemic planning and, where necessary, to coordinate efforts at European and international level.
We perceive broad agreement between the Council and the positions taken by the European Parliament, as expressed in the report by your rapporteur, Mr. Adamou, on 'Pandemic Influenza: Preparedness and Response Planning in the European Community'.
This implies, above all, intensified and more stringent co-ordination between Member States and the Commission. With regard to all of the activities in the area of pandemic planning, the German Presidency lends its explicit support to the co-ordinating function of the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC).
In its deliberations on the Green Paper 'Promoting the Mental Health of the Population' last year, the European Parliament confirmed the great significance of mental health. The report by Mr. Bowis identifies concrete measures and, in doing so, sends out a number of important and unmistakable signals.
We welcome the intention of the European Commission to draft a Community Strategy on this topic.
However, our programme does not end here. In view of the time constraints, permit me to just briefly mention some of the other projects.
The Presidency also welcomes the Commission's current initiative to develop a Health Policy Strategy. I assume that, at the meeting of the Council of Health Ministers on 31st May we will have a better picture.
With respect to organ donations and transplantation, the Commission has announced a communication which it will be outlining to the Council on 31st May.
We are also awaiting, in the near future, the Commission's Green Paper on a smoke-free environment. This topic will also be on the agenda of the Council of Health Ministers on 31st May which, incidentally, is the World No-Tobacco Day.
As you can see, there is a great deal to be done in the next half year and I appeal to you warmly to help us achieve a spirit of close co-operation based on trust. Health policy helps us to bring the citizens of Europe closer to one another, shows where the European added value lies and what benefit, even personal benefit, can be derived from a united Europe.
I am sure that you have questions and suggestions for me.Please, do not hesitate.
