Mr President, on behalf of Mr Mantovani too, I would like to thank the rapporteur Mrs Jöns for her superb work and for the excellent cooperation she has demonstrated on this sensitive issue, which is more of a priority than ever before. As shadow rapporteur for our group, Mr Mantovani – who as long ago as January 2003 was the author of the report that opened the debate in the European Parliament on the future of health systems and care for the elderly – has confirmed the key importance of the fundamental challenges concerning, in particular, provision, quality, content and cover in the field of health care expenditure in Europe. As the Commissioner has also confirmed, the ageing of the population, progress in medicine, greater life expectancy and the increasing demand for health services, linked with unprecedented mobility and information, together contribute to a substantial widespread increase in the costs of the health system, which at times has proven to be unsustainable for the current economic climate and above all for public administrations. According to figures contained in the European Commission’s latest report on the health situation, the number of elderly people over the age of 75 will rise to 27% by 2010. In the next 15 years, the number of the very elderly, that is, over the age of 80, will increase by almost 50%. At the same time, in this context the level of dependence of the elderly is also set to increase. Changes in the over 80-year olds age group will be greater and quicker than those in any other age group. This trend will also generally hold true for the ten new countries that will soon join the current Member States. Indeed, with the exception of Poland, the Slovak Republic and Cyprus – where the active population continues to grow, even if somewhat slowly – the ageing of the population in all of the other countries is a phenomenon that has already taken root and is tending to increase. A lot will depend on the effectiveness of the strategies implemented in the health area and on the political choices made at European, national and local level. Changes in this area are not only necessary but also more of a priority than ever before. Even though the provision of health care and care in general currently remains essentially the competence of the Member States, we realise that a similar trend with significant and complex implications cannot be dealt with effectively and thoroughly at national level alone. In January 2003, when the Mantovani report on health systems in Europe was adopted, there was broad consensus in this Parliament in favour of developing Community cooperation to improve health systems, which, in my opinion, is the only way to deal with the ageing of the population in particular. This trend means that European society must adapt and citizens must change their behaviour and habits. In the decisions of the Court of Justice, these various issues – which concern different policies that compete both on an international and a national level for total subsidiarity, and I am thinking of patient mobility, the completion of the internal market and consumer policy – must be considered to be increasingly crucial and there must be a new context within which European cooperation is stepped up in order to be able to achieve tangible results as soon as possible. There is a requirement for more extensive cooperation and for common standards to be drawn up in terms of quality and quantity. The European Union’s objective, set at Lisbon four years ago, was to become the most competitive economy in the world by 2010. Today, attaining this objective has become particularly difficult as a result of low growth and the unfavourable economic climate and will therefore not be attained unless we approach it seriously and in the same way as the other challenges that await us.

Political group: PPE-DE