Brussels, 03/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - The 2015 annual work programme for the third programme of the Union's action in the field of health (2014-2020) has been adopted, the European Commission announced on Tuesday 2 June.
“The health programme has been adopted and covers my priorities: alcohol, tuberculosis, hepatitis, health technology assessment”, the Commissioner for Health, Vytenis Andriukaitis, announced on Twitter.
The EU's maximum contribution to the execution of the programme in 2015 has been set at €59.75 million from the general budget of the EU for 2015. Most of this budget (around €54 million) will be used to fund actions to encourage innovation in healthcare and increase the viability of the healthcare systems, improve the health of EU citizens and protect them from cross-border health threats.
The third “Health” programme has four main aims: 1) to promote health, prevent diseases and foster supportive environments for healthy lifestyles, taking into account the 'health in all policies' principle; 2) protect the EU citizens from serious cross-border health threats; 3) contribute to innovative, efficient and sustainable health systems; 4) facilitate access to better and safer healthcare for EU citizens. The main instrument used by the Commission to apply the EU's health strategy, it is implemented by means of annual work plans, which lay down the priority areas and financing criteria for the actions. The programme has a total budget of €449.4 million. (Isabelle Lamberty)