Brussels, 30/08/2000 (Agence Europe) - While waiting for the new programme to improve public health in the Union to take effect, the current Community programmes, which are reaching their end, will be prolonged until 2002. The following progammes are concerned here: health promotion, health information, education and training programmes, the action plan to combat cancer, the AIDs prevention programme and those for certain communicable diseases, the drug addiction prevention programme, the programme to control health and illnesses linked to pollution, which end either at the end of this year or in 2001.
The Commission has decided on this prolongation to avoid any legal vacuum on the expiry of the programmes, knowing that the adoption of the new programme and the 2001-2006 Action Plan that it contains will be a lengthy process, due to the co-decision procedure that may require conciliation between Parliament and the Council. EUROPE reminds you that the new programme, that the Commission presented on 16 May, is an incentive programme, together with a proposal for funding of 300 million euro over six years (2001-2006). The setting up of the comprehensive information system on the defining principles and analysis of this information, the strengthening of early warning, monitoring and control mechanisms of health risks with a European and world dimension, and the identification of the most effective strategies and policies to combat illness and promote health in the Union are the main thrusts (see EUROPE of 18 May, p.14).