Brussels, 13/07/2016 (Agence Europe) - The second half of 2016 will be relatively calm at the Council in the field of public health. Addressing MEPs on 12 July, the Slovak Minister for Health, Tomás Drucker, indicated that he would prioritise access to innovative medicines, antimicrobial resistance and non-transmissible diseases.
The Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU has in fact inherited few legislative dossiers, given the recent agreement on medical devices (EUROPE 11559). The legislative proposals on endocrine disruptors will also be discussed by the Environment grouping at the Council and those on veterinary medicines by the Agriculture and Fisheries group. The Commission itself does not intend to present new legislative proposals in the area of shared competences.
In this context, the Slovak Presidency is seeking to pursue the work begun under the Dutch Presidency on the availability of medicines, given the exorbitant prices of some of the existing innovative medicines. Before looking at the question of the marketing status of medicines, Drucker affirmed, “We want to develop a basis of cooperation between member states and the pharmaceutical industry. We have to be ambitious, even though we also have to be aware that the industry is experiencing marketing obstacles”. In reply to Gilles Pargneaux, the French socialist, the Minister indicated that he did not intend to relaunch discussions about the transparency of medicine prices, given that the Commission withdrew its proposal on this subject. He said that, “It is clear that setting the prices of medicines is a challenge and transparency is not yet on the agenda. It is up to the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is responsible for authorising a product being put on the market”. He added that “one could imagine that the EMA is following the rules a little less strictly to allow swifter access to new medicines. These are areas we can explore but we do have not any plans for adopting specific measures on these issues”.
The Slovak Presidency's other priorities include antimicrobial resistance and non-infectious diseases. During the workgroup on 15 July, Slovakia is also expected to propose setting up an integrated policy framework on tuberculosis, HIV and hepatitis C, as part of the health programme up to 2020. Bratislava is not forgetting to mention the question of dementia and obesity either. With regard to the prevalence of obesity, Drucker said, “I think that we really are talking about an epidemic today. The composition of food products is an important element in reducing risk factors and we will be encouraging the member states to work on this”. Drucker added that “the Slovak Presidency will assess the question of trans-fatty acids by the end of the year”. In reply to a question from an MEP, he explained that his presidency did not intend to examine the question of food labelling, “The member states have the right to label products as they wish. We therefore regard the situation as satisfactory”. The Minister also provided assurances that he would do his best to ensure that the EU reached a common decision in view of the conference of the parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC), which will be taking place on 7-12 November 2016 in India.
It should be pointed out that only one MEP raised the question of the proposals presented on 15 June last on endocrine disruptors (EUROPE 11575, 11573). Michèle Rivasi (Greens/EFA, France) effectively asked the Minister what his position was on the question and whether it concurred with that of the Commission or the Parliament. Unsurprisingly, the Slovak Minister chose to sideline the question.
Agenda:
20-21 September: conference in Bratislava on preventing risk factors and better food
3-4 November: informal Health Ministers' Meeting
29 November: Bratislava conference on Alzheimer's disease, focusing on scientific, medical and social aspects of dementia.
9 December: Health Council in Brussels. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)