We will give them due attention over the coming months. Today I will restrict myself to making just one or two points on our new health policy. The two documents adopted in May are linked and should be seen as a package. The health strategy document describes how many Community policies interact and have a bearing on our population s health. Internal market policies, for example, regulate certain health-related products, such as pharmaceuticals or medical devices, and they also lay down rules for the recognition of diplomas of health professionals.
Environmental policies cover rules for emissions into the air, the soil or water.
Radiation protection is clearly an important area in its own right. Finally, the findings generated by our research programmes help to inform and underpin policy-making in health. Our work on public health is thus one important element of our health strategy, but by no means the only one. We need to improve our understanding of how different policies and actions interact, and how they influence health status and health systems within the Community. Over the coming years, we will take a number of measures to ensure that the Community s overall approach is fully coherent and consistent.