Brussels, 07/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - European health ministers meeting in Brussels on 7 December for the last Health Council this year, welcomed the state of progress in work concerning the draft decision aimed at strengthening EU capabilities and structures for effectively responding to the serious cross-border health threats. A first reading agreement is due to be found under Irish Presidency during the first half of 2013 thanks to the satisfactory progress made under the Cypriot Presidency. Health Commissioner Tonio Borg has said one must not wait for the problems to arise but should anticipate them. It is therefore important to be able to finalise certain measures as one member state alone cannot prevent a crisis from crossing its borders.
At this stage, member states remain divided over delegating powers to the European Commission when it comes to surveillance and intervention, and they are opposed to the proposal authorising the Commission to adopt common and temporary public heath measures. Commissioner Borg has deplored this blocking, saying that one recognises the significant needs in health matters with increased coordination at European level. That is what one must choose and, if one wants concerted effort, the Commission must have certain powers. Cypriot Health Minister Androulla Agrotou announced for her part that a meeting would be held of the public health group in Council, the last under the Cypriot Presidency, on 19 December. In her view, outstanding issues may be resolved during that meeting.
There was still division during the public deliberations concerning the provision authorising the Commission to adopt implementation acts to define the procedures needed for setting in place coordination between the member states concerning their capacity for surveillance, early warning, evaluation and intervention regarding cross-border health threats (Article 4§5 of the text). Several countries have insisted on the autonomy that they wish to maintain when it comes to planning preparation and intervention, as well as on the principle whereby planning should not be compulsory at European level. Such is the case for the United Kingdom, Sweden, Finland and Poland.
The Council, moreover, has stated it is in favour of doing away with Article 12 of the proposal which evokes the possibility for the Commission to adopt common and temporary public health measures by way of delegated acts. It prefers these measures to be finalised by the health security committee for which the Council has agreed to give a legal base, conferring upon it the status of a forum for cooperation and informal coordination. The Commission does not agree to do away with that provision. In its view, common and temporary public health measures would be a safety net should the coordination of national interventions prove insufficient to face up to a situation of extreme urgency and where, as a consequence, the protection of the Union as a whole would be threatened. Commissioner Borg stressed that opinions differed and that the Commission maintains that such measures are needed to stem exceptional emergencies in order to be able to act as swiftly as possible. (IL/transl.jl)