June

• 11.06.2007
  Personalised Drug Therapy Holds out New Opportunities for Patients. An international expert conference on 'Pharmaceutical Innovation: Possibilities and Limits of Personalised Drug Therapy' starts today within the framework of Germany's EU Presidency. Jointly held by the Federal Ministry of Health, the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices and the European Commission, the two-day conference will be opened by Dr. Klaus Theo Schröder, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Health. Dr. Klaus Theo Schröder: "Personalised pharmacotherapy aims to develop medicinal products that are tailored to individual patients and groups of patients, thereby creating new, improved therapeutic options and optimising existing ones. In addition to enhancing tolerability, this therapeutic approach is meant to increase the effectiveness and safety of drug therapy and, at the same time, contribute towards the more effective use of resources in the health care system.“

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May

• 31.05.2007
  Federal Minister of Health Ulla Schmidt: Good results from the German EU Council Presidency with regard to health policy. Today the EU Council of Health Ministers has met in Brussels. Federal Minister of Health, Mrs Ulla Schmidt, appreciated the agreement reached by the EU Health Ministers concerning the regulation on medicinal products for so-called advanced therapies. Thus the quality and availability of new and promising methods of treatment will be improved, in which patients place great hopes. Ulla Schmidt: "The regulation decisively contributes to the competitiveness of the EU in key areas of biotechnology and supports the growth of this upcoming sector of industry. At the same time appropriate attention is paid to ethical issues." Also the revision of the Medical Devices Directives, which had been expected for a long time, was successfully brought to a close.
• 30.05.2007
  The European Alliance for Families is on the right track says von der Leyen. The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs (EPSCO) Council adopted a conclusion in Brussels under the German presidency to establish a European Alliance for Families. “This decision to establish the alliance shows the Member States' commitment to more family-friendly policies in Europe,” said the President-in office of the Council, Federal Minister Ursula von der Leyen. Against the background of demographic change in Europe, the European Union's heads of states and governments had already approved the Germany presidency's proposal to establish a European Alliance for Families at their Spring Summit on 8 and 9 March 2007.
• 16.05.2007
  Federal Minister von der Leyen: Joining forces to promote equality. Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, hosted an informal meeting of ministers for equal opportunities and family affairs, attended by over 100 delegation members, in Bad Pyrmont on 15 and 16 May. "Equal opportunities for women and men in work and family life" was the motto of the two-day summit. It was generally agreed by all participants that action has to be taken in the area of family policy in order to achieve gender equality.
• 15.05.2007
  Towards Gender Equality and Family Affairs. With her colleagues from the other countries in the first EU trio presidency, portuguese Secretary of State of the Presidency Jorge Lacao Costa and Slovenian Minister Marjeta Cotman, Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Ursula von der Leyen, today (15 may 2007) presented the joint initiative “Towards Gender Equality and Family Affairs” on the fringes of the informal meeting of European Ministers for Equality and Family in Bad Pyrmont. They hope that this joint initiative will result in the firm establishment of key equality issues in European politics. Over an 18-month period, the German, Portuguese and Slovenian partners who will be taking over EU council presidency in succession are planning European-level actions to extend female and male role models, to promote equality of opportunity and pay for working women and men, and to support migrant women.
• 15.05.2007
  Von der Leyen: joining forces for equal opportunities in Europe. Ursula von der Leyen, Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, is chairing an informal meeting of EU ministers for equality and family affairs and EU Commission delegates in Bad Pyrmont on 15 and 16 May. Participants will be discussing how equality and family policies can be combined to improve equality of opportunity and social cohesion in Europe. "Europe needs a policy that puts men and women on an equal footing so it is easier for them to combine work, family life and taking care of dependents. Today's equality policy is very effective in all the areas where pro-active family policy tools are used. And family policy is very effective when it is oriented on real life situations and not distorted by traditional gender role expectations. That's why I'm looking forward to developing new concepts and smart ideas in Bad Pyrmont; concepts and ideas that we and our team presidency partners can permanently establish throughout Europe," said Ursula von der Leyen.
• 11.05.2007
  Invitation for the press: Ursula von der Leyen to open informal meeting of EU Ministers for Equal Opportunities and Family Affairs on 15 May 2007 in Bad Pyrmont. The informal meeting of Ministers for Equal Opportunities and Family Affairs on 15 and 16 May 2007 in Bad Pyrmont will focus on the issue of equal opportunities for men and women in employment and in the family. The ministers will be discussing topics such as 'Changing role models - new challenges for men' 'Strategic alliances with the business community ', 'Women and active fathers in management positions' and 'Supporting migrant women and children - participation in society and on the labour market' . Vladimír Spidla, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Ursula von der Leyen Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Slovenian minister Marjeta Cotman and a representative of Portugal will be talking about their political objectives and expectations of the meeting at a Press Conference (Livestream at www.eu2007.de) on 15 May 2007, 2 p.m., at the Steigenberger Hotel Bad Pyrmont. Subsequent accreditations are available until 1 p.m. on 14 May

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April

• 20.04.2007
  Federal Minister of Health Schmidt: Better provisions for better health care delivery to the EU's citizens. On 19th and 20th April 2007, the Federal Minister of Health, Ulla Schmidt, received the EU Ministers of Health for an Informal Meeting in the town of Aachen. The Minister stated: "European health policy has made major headway. The task now is to make cross-border care, too, a real option on the ground for all citizens. The Informal Council has a fine opportunity to prepare good, citizen-oriented decisions in this area." The Federal Minister of Health went on to stress: "People live in Europe and they work in Europe. Europe must guarantee that everyone has access to medical services, that the quality of care does not depend on the size of one's wallet and that all patients receive high-quality health care should they fall ill.“
• 19.04.2007
  For better health care in Europe - German Council Presidency gives fresh impetus to co-operation on cross-border electronic health services. At today's 2007 eHealth Conference, the representatives of the European Member States and additional members of the European Economic Area adopted a common Declaration. The representatives agreed to pursue co-ordinated and structured co-operation in the area of cross- border electronic health services throughout Europe. Electronic health services are applications such as the electronic prescription or the electronic patient file and additional services that, in Germany, are to be gradually extended with the electronic health card.
• 19.04.2007
  Informal Meeting of Health Ministers: Improving the crossborder healthcare services. Before the beginning of the informal council meeting of Health ministers during the german EU-presidency in Aachen Ulla Schmidt, the german Federal minister of Health, was optimistic about the forthcoming discussions. She declares that there is a high willingness to solve the problems of crossborder healthcare services in favour of the patients.
• 17.04.2007
  Demographic Change is also a chance for Europe. In co-operation with the European Commission a European congress titled "Demographic change as an opportunity – the economic potential of the elderly" will be hosted by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth on 17 and 18 April 2007 in Berlin. Today, the Federal Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth, Mrs Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Mr Vladimír Špidla, have emphasized the importance of the elderly generation for Europe on the occasion of the congress opening: "By using their professional experience, their outside work commitment and not least their purchasing power, elderly people may significantly contribute to growth and economic development."

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March

• 27.03.2007
  On 19th and 20th April 2007, the EU Health Ministers will be coming together for their Informal Meeting in Aachen. The Federal Minister of Health, Ulla Schmidt, will be presiding over the exchange of opinion among the 27 Health Ministers of the European Union's Member States as well as the three candidates for accession (Turkey, Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) the EU Commissioner Markos Kyprianou and two Members of the European Parliament. A total of some 200 participants are expected to attend. One of the main areas of emphasis of these consultations will be the access of Europe's citizens to high-quality and efficient health care services within the European Union. Furthermore, in Aachen, the EU Ministers of Health will have an opportunity to discuss the priorities of the German Council Presidency as well as other health policy topics.
• 16.03.2007
  Social dialogue to be stepped up in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership - Federal Government hosts conference in Berlin. The Social Partners Conference “Employment and Social Dialogue within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership” will be held in Berlin today, Friday, 16 March 2007. Ministers of the Member States and representatives of the EU Commission, trade unions and employers’ federations will take part. A total of around 190 delegates are expected to attend. This is the first time a conference will aim to intensify inter-regional and subregional cooperation on employment and social policy between the EU Member States and the southern Mediterranean countries. The basis for this dialogue was created by the Barcelona Process which has promoted political, economic and cultural cooperation between these states since 1995. More focus is now to be placed on the social dimension. This is the only way a common area of security and prosperity can be created in the long term.
• 13.03.2007
  EU-Conference agrees on Bremen Declaration. At the end of the EU Conference "Responsibility and Partnership – Together Against HIV/AIDS" in Bremen, the representatives of EU Member States, neighbouring countries and international partners agreed on a joint declaration in their fight against HIV/AIDS ("Bremen Declaration"). The EU Conference "Responsibility and Partnership" – Together Against HIV/AIDS" took place in Bremen under the German Council Presidency from 12 to 13 March 2007, upon invitation from the German Federal Minister of Health, Mrs. Ulla Schmidt. In this Declaration, the participants commit to assume political leadership at national, European and international level to roll back the pandemic.
• 13.03.2007
  HIV/AIDS Control at the highest political level. In closing the EU Conference 'Responsibility and Partnership –­ Together Against HIV/AIDS' in Bremen, the Federal Minister of Health, Ulla Schmidt, the Federal Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development, Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul, and Annette Schavan, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, jointly declare their common goals in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The current President of the EU Council of Health Ministers, Federal Minister of Health, Ulla Schmidt: "At the Bremen Conference, we succeeded in agreeing on the fact that the fight against HIV/AIDS can only be won with strong political leadership. This is a topic which must be tackled at the highest possible political level.
• 12.03.2007
  Conference on Employment and Social Dialogue within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. On 16 March 2007 the social partners conference "Employment and Social Dialogue within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership" will take place. The venue will be the Federal Foreign Office in the morning and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in the afternoon. This conference has been organized under Germany’s EU Presidency by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs and the Federal Foreign Office in conjunction with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
• 09.03.2007
  Federal Minister of Family Affairs von der Leyen: “Learn from the successful policies of others”. On the occasion of the summit meeting in Brussels on March 8-9, 2007 and against the background of demographic change in Europe, the heads of states and governments of the European Union acknowledged the European Alliance for Families as proposed under the German EU presidency.

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February

• 09.02.2007
  Invitation to the Press Conference - "Closing the Gap" Tackling Health Inequalities in Europe. Within the scope of the EU Council Presidency, the national closing conference on the project "Closing the Gap" which had been sponsored by the European Commission, will take place on 13 February 2007. As a representative of Germany, the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) has been coordinating this European Union project between 21 European states for a period of three years. At the concluding conference the Strategies for Action To Tackle Health Inequalities in Europe shall be presented and the contents of the new Database of Good Practices including 90 projects from all European countries participating shall be introduced.

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January

• 30.01.2007
  Federal Minister von der Leyen: "The Strength of Europe is its Diversity". Discrimination and equal opportunities are the themes of a European Conference to convene in Berlin on January 30-31 in conjunction with the first European Equal Opportunities Summit. The events officially mark the start of the German EU Presidency and together with the European Commission, launch the "European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, 2007." Federal German Minister Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities, Vladimír Špidla, formally opened the Conference today before an international audience of approximately 500 high-level participants from the research, administrative and government communities.
• 19.01.2007
  Chair’s Conclusions drafted in Cooperation with the two Following Presidencies Portugal and Slovenia. Informal Meeting of Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs Berlin, 18/20 January 2007 - Chair’s Conclusions drafted in Cooperation with the two Following Presidencies Portugal and Slovenia
• 18.01.2007
  Meeting of EU Ministers for Employment and Social Affairs in Berlin – focus on “good work” and the European Social Model. Statement by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs on the Informal Meeting of European Employment and Social Affairs Ministers held under the German EU Council Presidency
• 16.01.2007
  Informal Meeting of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers. The Informal Meeting of Employment and Social Affairs Ministers to be held in Berlin from 18 to 20 January 2007 will provide the opportunity for an intensive exchange on the subject of "Good jobs". The theme is one of the focal points of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in relation to Germany’s EU Council Presidency which include “further developing the European social model”, “good jobs” and “equal opportunities”.

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