26/04/2006 (Agence Europe) - In Vienna on Wednesday, EU Health Ministers discussed their state of readiness for a possible human flu pandemic. Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said in a press conference that it was a “continuous process” and spoke of a second exercise similar to the one at the end of 2005. Discussion did not allow progress to be made on the creation of a Community stock of anti-viral medicines. With only one Member State strongly against the creation of such a stock, opinions remain mixed as to its use and how it would work. The debate nonetheless confirmed that this was definitely not to be a stock which would replace national stocks. It would be used to respond to emergencies along with WHO stocks. Arriving with a non-paper, the Commissioner left with the Ministers' questions, stating he intended to answer these questions in an “options document”, which he would present to them in June. Questioned about how soon this stock could be created, Mr Kyprianou said that once the decision had been made, it would not take long to gather.