Brussels, 03/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - No decision is expected at the Council of Health Minister of the European Union, to meet in Brussels on 6 December under the Presidency of the Dutch Minister, Hans Hoogervorst.
The Ministers will start their work with a public debate on the fight against HIV and Aids. In the questionnaire it sent out to them, the Presidency invited the Ministers to formulate an opinion on the ideas contained within a European Commission working document. This text, which favours a global approach to the epidemic, raises the possibility of improving cooperation between Member States, candidate countries and neighbours, and with the relevant international organisations. It envisages the use of EU financial instruments to promote research, particularly into a vaccine.
Pending the European Parliament's first reading, the Ministers will hold an initial exchange of views on the proposed regulation on the use of medicines on children. This proposal, which was largely modelled on legislation from the United States, aims to protect children whilst guaranteeing that medicines are adapted to use on children (see EUROPE of 29 September).
Giving the increasing number of animal diseases transmissible to humans, known as zoonoses, (bird 'flu, rabies, tuberculosis), and the serious threats they pose to public health, the Council is to adopt conclusions in which it calls upon the Commission to develop a European action plan for zoonoses preparedness and control, with the support of Community agencies (European Food Safety Authority, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and European Environment Agency). It is worth noting that over lunch, the Ministers will also discuss the state of preparedness of the EU and its Member States in the face of the possible outbreak of a 'flu pandemic.
The Council will also discuss the problem of nutritive and health claims on foods. Pending the opinion of the European Parliament, the Council will take note of a progress report on the proposed regulation of July 2003 aiming to harmonise national legislation and prevent dubious, misleading or abusive claims from being deliberately placed on food labels or advertising by manufacturers, to boast the supposed benefits of their food products for the health and well-being of consumers. The Council will also hold an exchange of views to guide its future work. The debate will focus on: the role of regulatory measures at Community level in correct information being given to consumers to persuade them to eat healthily; -the concept of the nutrient profile of foods (required to determine which will not be allowed to carry health claims), as a tool to guide the consumer to genuinely healthy food choices, as recommended by the WHO.