Brussels, 06/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - The Luxembourg Presidency says that, in its approach, it has chosen to listen to the ordinary citizen, to support businesses and to cooperate with partners and institutions in acting in the interests of Europe. Thus, “a European project serving the citizens must focus on public health”, it states in its priorities document, published at the start of July, while addressing the growth of multi-speed medicine and ever more expensive medicines and treatments.
More specifically, the Luxembourg Presidency has announced that it will make every effort to facilitate the creation of a strong regulatory framework providing European citizens with quick access to safe, high-quality medical devices, while encouraging the innovation and competitiveness of the internal market. At the last Health Council under the Latvian presidency, in Luxembourg on 19 June, ministers finally reached agreement on a partial approach on two draft regulations, one on medical devices and the other on in vitro diagnostic medical devices (see EUROPE 11339). It will be for the Luxembourg Presidency to look after the recitals and technical details that could not be settled by the previous Presidency, and to iron out the inconsistencies that remain in the text so that a full general approach can be reached. The Luxembourg Presidency has acknowledged all the work done by Latvia in taking forward this complex matter that has long been on the Council table. A diplomatic source said: “The Latvian Presidency has managed to make some progress by dividing the issue into a number of blocks and progress has been made on these”. “We believe that we can continue to advance with this issue. (…) We might be able to bring it to a conclusion. There is a positive dynamic to build on”, the source added (our translation).
The Luxembourg Presidency will initiate a process of reflection on improved access to personalised medicine and on adopting an innovative approach to tackling dementia. It has announced that special attention will be given to this latter point, which will be the theme of the informal meeting of health ministers to be held in Luxembourg on 24 and 25 September. A high-level conference on personalised medicine will take place on 8 July. A number of questions will be addressed: How can personalised medicine help improve both the health of European citizens and the economic viability of our health systems? How can more targeted use of care be achieved? What are patients' experiences? The conclusions will be presented at the formal Council of health ministers on 8 December. A conference will also be organised on tackling cancer. Lastly the Luxembourg Presidency will assess how well the Ebola epidemic has been managed. (Isabelle Lamberty)