Brussels, 27/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday, the Health Council will examine the Italian presidency report on the progress achieved in the work on medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices. This dossier appears to have been stalled at the Council of Ministers, which is struggling to reach a common position, despite the fact that the European Commission presented its proposal two years ago (26 September 2012) and the European Parliament adopted its own position on 2 April 2014 and is becoming impatient with the slow pace adopted by the Council.
One source close to the Italian presidency said that it is a “particularly complex” dossier, covering a vast range of medical products that are very diverse. The source also underlined the objectives in the new legislation, namely: providing consumers, swiftly and at a reasonable cost, safe devices that are subject to controls but which do not put a brake on business innovation in the sector. The substantial number of technical meetings organised by the Italian presidency are expected to help pave the way for the Latvian presidency, which is expected to succeed in adopting a common position. The expert spoken to in this connection welcomed the fact that, “today (26 November, Ed), Coreper acknowledged the substantial work undertaken, with the many technical meetings organised”.
Ministers will also have an exchange of views regarding the contribution of the healthcare systems to the EUROPE 20 Strategy goals. They are also expected to adopt a raft of conclusions. The first of them involves, “vaccination as an effective tool in public health”. Vaccination is particularly important with regard to infectious diseases, explained the Italian presidency, which illustrated a worrying situation in which vaccinations in certain member states are being increasingly rejected.
Conclusions will also be adopted on patient safety and quality health care. The text is expected to underline the importance of ensuring safety at work, the fight against the spread of infection, particularly in hospital institutions and highlight improved cooperation between member states. Antimicrobial resistance will also be discussed.
The third raft of conclusions involves innovation that benefits patients, a subject very dear to the heart of the Italian presidency, which also, during an informal ministers meeting in Milan, last September, spoke about this. The high price of medicines will be highlighted at this meeting.
Under the miscellaneous section of the agenda, the Commissioner for Health, Vytenis Andriukaitis, is expected to inform health ministers about the lessons learned from his visit to West African countries affected by the Ebola epidemic. The Commissioner was accompanied by the coordinator for Ebola, Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides, during this visit. The two Commissioners visited Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea 12-16 November (EUROPE 11199). (IL)