Brussels, 22/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - Alcohol abuse and nutrition were the main points of the informal Health Ministers' meeting in Riga on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 April. The Latvian Presidency sought to use the meeting to discuss factors resulting from chronic diseases that have been increasing to a worrying extent in the EU, such as obesity and the other health repercussions that it provokes, as well as measures that member states can adopt to slow them down.
After a discussion on Monday on alcohol and whether there was a need to update European policy on the matter (see EUROPE yesterday), ministers' discussions on Tuesday focused on the action they could take together to encourage Europeans to adopt healthier diets. The Latvian Health Minister, Guntis Belevics, said, “we discussed the health risks caused by inappropriate diets”. He also welcomed the fact that “as part of our mutual cooperation, we have already improved our policies on nutrition”.
The Minister particularly welcomed the progress made at a member state level to voluntarily reduce the level of salt in food. He described this as a success story and added “Today we discussed a common position to reduce sugar levels”. He said it was necessary to continue discussions at a Council of Ministers' level, in an effort to further develop cooperation on food safety.
Ladislav Miko, director general at the Directorate General Health and Food Safety, emphasised “the Commission is convinced that by working together… We can reduce chronic diseases”. Miko welcomed the excellent exchange of views between member states during the meeting and indicated that he would send the ministers' conclusions to the Commissioner for Health, Vytenis Andriukaitis, and help the European Commission develop appropriate action to fight against chronic diseases, particularly child obesity. (Isabelle Lamberty)