COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
C0MO3) 224 final 
Brussels, 24 May 1993 
m 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
on collaboration between the Commission of the European Communities 
and the World Health Organization 
&, ,),';'} 
PREAMBLE 
The Council and the Ministers for Health meeting within the Council have requested 
the Commission on a number of occasions to present an up-to-date review of activities 
undertaken in the context of its cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO). 
In response to these requests, the Commission has prepared the present 
Communication on the collaboration between the Commission of the European Communities 
and the WHO. This Communication surveys the various actions conducted either jointly by 
the European Community and the WHO, or with the involvement of either party in an action 
undertaken by the other, grouped under broad areas of activity which reflect distinct areas of 
policy of the European Community. 
INTRODUCTION 
Cooperation between the Commission of the European Communities and the WHO 
has been based on two exchanges of letters between the Commission and the WHO Regional 
Committee for Europe in 1972, and the European Communities and the WHO in 1982 (1). 
More recently the Director General of the WHO proposed the reinforcement and extension 
of cooperation between the two organisations and a letter of intent was signed by the 
Director-General of DG I for the Commission and the Deputy Director-General of the 
WHO. A personal representative of the Director-General of the WHO to the European 
Community was appointed in April 1992. As recently as September 1992, at the Regional 
Committee meeting, the Member States of the European region of the WHO expressed their 
wish for closer relations between the various international organisations dealing with health 
matters. 
In the interests of cooperation and aware of the important contribution of the Member 
States of the European Community to the policies, programmes and budget of the WHO 
(their assessed contributions amounted to 30.16% of the overall WHO budget for the 1992-
1993 biennium) , the Council and the Ministers for Health meeting within the Council have 
from time to time expressed the need for the Community to cooperate more closely with the 
WHO in health-related matters. In December 1990 the Council took note of a Commission 
staff working paper outlining the various areas in which cooperation with the WHO was 
taking place. 
It should be noted that Article 129 of the Treaty on European Union, currently 
undergoing the process of ratification, and in particular its paragraph 3, requires the 
Community to foster cooperation with international organisations competent in the sphere of 
public health, including the WHO. Cooperation with the WHO already covers a wide field, 
reflecting shared objectives and common areas of activity . It is based on good working 
relationships on common subjects of importance to obtain the best results from the resources 
available and avoid duplication of effort, rather than the implementation of common plans of 
action agreed between the two parties. Cooperation takes place at many different levels 
ranging from joint participation in technical working parties and the exchange of technical 
information to participation by the Commission as observer at the World Health Assembly 
and the meetings of Regional Committees. 
Technical cooperation has been particularly strong in the fields of cancer, chemical 
safety and the setting of standards. It has taken, in particular, the form of joint conferences 
and meetings of experts as well as joint publications. In the important areas of health 
promotion and health protection, joint activity has been developed on AIDS, including joint 
support for the European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS (CEC/WHO 
collaborating Centre on AIDS) in Paris, health education in schools and programmes to 
combat smoking and addiction. 
(1) OJ N° L 300, 28.10.1982. 
It is important to note the growing cooperation between the Community and the 
WHO in the area of humanitarian and development aid, based on complementary 
contributions from the two organisations. On the one hand, the Commission is one of the 
major aid donors in the world and health provision is included in its development 
programmes. On the other hand, the WHO has developed standard interventions and a 
country-based approach which fits well with the Commission's programmes. Cooperation 
takes place in the area of health-related assistance to developing countries, cooperation with 
the emerging democracies of Central and Eastern Europe and the former USSR, and 
emergency humanitarian aid to countries afflicted by disasters and epidemics - such as Peru 
and Haiti - and by internal disorder - such as Bosnia-Herzegovina and the U.N. controlled 
area of Croatia. Here the Commission, in addition to the direct provision of medical supplies 
to hospitals through the WHO, is a major contributor to the activities of non-governmental 
organisations, which are supported by the WHO. 
The Community's health-related research programmes on such subjects as 
biomedicine and health, health informatics, AIDS and tropical diseases provide significant 
support to the various areas of cooperation between the Community and the WHO. They 
draw on the expertise of the WHO and its participation as appropriate. 
This paper presents the areas of current cooperation under five main headings : 
prevention, health promotion and education ; standards, labelling and classification ; health 
aspects of the environment ; aid and assistance (including cooperation with Eastern and 
Central Europe) and research. Conclusions are set out in the last section. 
I. PREVENTION, HEALTH PROMOTION AND EDUCATION 
PREVENTION OF MAJOR DISEASES AND DRUG ABUSE 
Cooperation between the Commission and the WHO in this area has been continuous 
since the beginning of the Community's programmes and activities on the basis of reciprocal 
attendance at meetings, exchanges of information and the provision of expertise. 
CANCER 
In planning and implementing the EC "Europe against Cancer" programme the 
Commission drew, inter-alia, on the long experience of the WHO in combatting cancer. 
Cooperation between the two organizations now has a double objective : 
- the search for common policies, exemplified by the fight against tobacco , including 
the joint Organization of the First European Conference on tobacco prevention policies 
(Madrid, 1988) and the World conference on tobacco and health (Paris, 1994), cross 
representation at meetings and Commission participation in the WHO No Tobacco Day. 
- the development of common initiatives such as those in the fields of nutrition and 
epidemiology. To examine the relationship between nutrition and cancer, the Commission 
proposed and financed a European network coordinated and managed by the WHO 
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). IARC's work includes prospective 
surveys and the Organisation of an International Congress on Nutrition and Cancer (Lyon 
1993) and it has contributed to a meeting on the same subject in Budapest in June 1990. In 
the same way recommendations on the training of oncologists developed at conferences 
under the EC programme have been the basis for a WHO meeting on the same subject in 
Prague in 1992. 
The formation of a network of cancer registries, an IARC initiative,is now supported 
as part of the Community Cancer programme and makes a very important contribution to 
cancer epidemiology and other studies. Similarly, IARC s evaluation and monograph 
programme on carcinogens is supported by the Commission. 
AIDS 
The extent and seriousness of the threat posed by the AIDS pandemic has required 
and will continue to require close cooperation between the Community and the WHO. 
The action programmes developed by the Commission are consistent with the 
coordinated strategies adopted by the WHO and implemented by its Global Programme on 
AIDS, and are intended to provide a distinct Community contribution. The Commission is 
invited to attend the Management Committee of the the WHO Global Programme on AIDS 
and has played an active part in the definition of the strategies. Those responsible for the 
Community action programmes maintain close contact with their counterparts in WHO and 
share activities where appropriate. 
The Commission and the WHO cooperate closely to support the European Centre for 
the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS in Paris, which is the central institution for the 
collection of pertinent data in Europe and provides excellent up to date information and a 
framework for other joint activities. 
The Commission has initiated a joint programme with WHO to test indicators of the 
performance and efficacy of national programmes to combat AIDS. The Commission has 
participated with WHO in technical meetings organised by the WHO on particular aspects of 
AIDS prevention such as Sexually Transmissible Diseases (STDs) and the Global Blood 
Safety Initiative. Furthermore there has been a joint involvement in the International 
Conferences on AIDS (Firenze 1991 and Amsterdam 1992). 
The possible development of a major epidemic in Eastern European countries 
provides a further incentive for reinforced cooperation between the Commission and the 
WHO , both being aware of the potential seriousness of the situation. 
DRUG ABUSE 
Cooperation between the Commission and the WHO in this area is confined to drug 
demand reduction and health education. The WHO has global scientific responsibility for the 
definition of narcotics which is carried out exclusively by its Expert Committee on 
Drugdependence, but its further involvement in drug abuse is limited to demand reduction. 
In contrast to other areas of public health, the WHO is not involved in treatment, control or 
enforcement. 
One of the tasks of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 
(EMCDDA)*1) , is to promote the incorporation of data on drugs and drug addiction gathered 
in the Member States or by the Community into international monitoring and drug-control 
programmes, particularly those established by the United Nations Organization and its 
specialized agencies (such as the WHO), and to cooperate actively with such organisations. 
The WHO has expressed the wish to co-operate with the EMCDDA in the collection of 
epidemiological data. 
(i) Council Regulation N° 302/93 of 8 February 1993 on the establishment of a European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction ^;j 
12.2. 1993, p.1). 
HEALTH EDUCATION AND PROMOTION 
Collaborative work with the WHO and the Council of Europe to promote health 
education and the prevention of drug abuse, AIDS, cancer and other major diseases which 
has taken place for a number of years is now growing in scope and importance.A joint 
Conference on the Promotion of Education for Health was organised in 1990 in Strasbourg 
by the three organisations to promote health education efforts in the field of drug prevention 
and the Commission worked with the WHO in the preparation of a number of Summer 
Schools for teacher training in Health Education (e.g. Southampton (1990), Montpellier 
(1991), Flensburg(1991), etc.).The Commission, the WHO and the Council of Europe 
collaborate in the European Network of Health Promoting Schools. 
HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK 
The Commission is cooperating with the WHO in the development of indicative 
criteria for the training of competent persons in the various disciplines concerned with 
occupational health and safety and supports their initiative for the development of the 
supporting services in occupational medicine, hygiene and safety. 
The Commission participates in a IARC project on harmonization of methods and 
quality assurance in the evaluation of exposure to airborne contaminants in the work 
environment - asbestos and other health risk related fibres. It also assists with some of 
IARC'S epidemiological studies such as the assessment of risks in laboratories. 
In view of the urgent need for more international cooperation on the provision of 
scientific data to be used for assessing effects due to chemical agents in the workplace, for 
example for the setting of limit values, a number of joint activities on the evaluation of 
hazardous chemicals at the workplace are taking place. 
Some of these activities draw on a systematic approach to labelling and classification 
{see section II Standards, labelling and classification) and on evaluations of toxicity carried 
out under the International Programme on Chemical Safety (IPCS) which has been set up by 
the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), the International Labour 
Organisation (ILO) and WHO. 
Also within the framework of the IPCS, the Commission supported the production of 
"Chemical Safety Cards" which provide basic information to workers and other users of 
chemicals on health hazards and the precautions to be taken. The Commission also 
contributes expertise in the elaboration of the IPCS's Environmental Health Criteria 
documents. 
IL STANDARDS, LABELLING AND CLASSIFICATION 
This area of cooperation provides a good example of complementarity in that the 
WHO is not a regulatory agency but can provide scientific evaluations and 
recommendations, validated by independent neutral groups of experts. This complementarity 
has led to close cooperation with the WHO in a number of areas e.g. chemicals, 
carcinogens, medicinal products and foodstuffs. 
In the context of the IPCS and as a follow-up to one of the objectives identified in 
Chapter 19 of Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on Environment and 
Development (UNCED 92), the Commission is currently collaborating with WHO and other 
international organisations to investigate common approaches towards the classification and 
labelling of chemicals placed on the market and used at work. Community interest in this 
area is based upon Directive 67/548/EEC^1) (as amended) on the classification, packaging 
and labelling of dangerous substances. 
Technical support has been given by the WHO (IARC) to the CEC group of experts 
working on classification and labelling of carcinogenic substances (Council Directive 
67/548/EEC {,)) and to the Commission's practical short monographs on carcinogens. 
In the field of pharmaceutical legislation and biological standardization, the WHO is 
increasingly basing its international harmonisation activities on Community guidelines, for 
example EC good manufacturing practice® and EC requirements for biotechnology 
medicines<3> <4> , while the WHO certification scheme for the quality of pharmaceuticals 
exported to third world countries has been officially adopted by the Community^5) . The 
WHO has been invited to take part in trilateral discussions (USA/Europe/Japan) leading to 
better pharmaceutical harmonisation at world level. Co-operation with the WHO on the 
surveillance of side effects ("pharmacovigilance") and in the field of the European 
Pharmacopoeia has also been established. 
The Commission participates in the work of the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius, and 
is spokesman for the Community in matters belonging to the external Community 
competence. This Codex, which is developed by the United Nations Food and Agriculture 
Organization and the WHO, revises and updates the international standards on foodstuffs. 
The WHO, as co-secretary of the Codex, is also responsible for the scientific evaluation of 
risks related to food additives and residues (whether they are of veterinary or pesticide 
origin). Independent committees of scientific experts, in which the Commission is 
represented, are used for this work. 
The WHO Code of the Marketing for Breast-Milk substitutes has been largely 
implemented in the Community through the Commission Directive 91/321/EEC <6> and the 
Community will contribute to its application in third countries following the adoption of 
Council Directive 92/52/EEC O) and Council Resolution 92/C172/01 <8> . 
*• ' Council Directive of 27 June 1967 on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classincation, packaging 
and labelling of dangerous substances (OJ 196, 16. 8. 1967, p.l). 
(2) Commission Directive of 13 June 1991 laying down the principles and guidelines of good manufacturing practice for medicinal products for human 
use (OJ L 193, 17. 7. 1991, p.30). 
(3) Council Directive of 22 December 1986 on the approximation of national measures relating to the placing on the market of high-technology 
medicinal products, particularly those derived from biotechnology (OJ L 15, 17. 1. 1987, p.38). 
( ^ Commission Directive of 19 July 1991 modifying the Annex to Council directive 75/318/EEC on the approximation of the laws of Member States 
relating to analytical, pharmacotoxicological and clinical standards and protocols in respect of the testing of medicinal products (OJ L 270, 26. 9 
1991. p.32). 
'• ' Council Directive of 3 May 1989 amending Directives 65/65/EEC, 75/318/EEC and 75/319/EEC on the approximation of provisions laid down by 
law, regulation or administrative action relating to proprietary medicinal products (OJ L 142, 25. 5. 1989, p.l 1). 
' ' Commission Directive of 14 May 1991 on infant formulae and follow-on formulae (OJ L 175, 4.7.1991, p.35). 
( > Council Directive of 18 June 1992 on infant formulae and follow-up formulae intended for export to third countries (OJ L 179, 1.7. 1992, p.!2v 
^ ' Council Resolution of 18 June 1992 on the marketing of breast-milk substitutes in third countries by Community bated manufacturers (Ci C !7?., u. 
7. 1992, p.l). 
7 
III. HEALTH ASPECTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT 
Since the addition in 1986 of Title VII "Environment" to the Treaty establishing the 
European Community and the first European Conference on Environment and Health 
(Frankfurt 1989) cooperation between the Commission and the WHO on health aspects of 
the environment has intensified. The Commission and the WHO are currently working 
together on the follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Environment and 
Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992). This work is confined to the effects of environmental 
factors on human health, in conformity with the WHO'S mandate. The Council and Health 
Ministers meeting in Council also adopted this approach when requesting the Commission to 
prepare a report on existing knowledge and experience concerning the relationship between 
health and the environment (Resolution 91/C 304/06 of November 1991 on health and the 
environment). 
TOXICOLOGY 
The European Community's programme of action on toxicology for health protection 
(Council Resolution 86/C 184/01) calls for the development and assessment of toxicological 
methods to support Community actions in the field of chemical safety. Joint activities with 
the WHO have been carried out in the following areas : role of poison centres, evaluation of 
antidotes including chelating agents, e.g. for cyanide and heavy metal poisoning, toxicity of 
chemicals for children, principles for the assessment and early detection of nephrotoxicity, 
and health risks of chemicals to progeny during pregnancy. 
A joint workshop was also held on the health significance of immunotoxicity 
(Hannover, 1989). The Commission's Scientific Advisory Committee to Examine the 
Toxicity and Ecotoxicity of Chemical Compounds is involved in a WHO activity on allergic 
hypersensitivity to chemicals. 
RADIATION PROTECTION 
Cooperation with the WHO on radiation protection takes place through an Inter-
Agency Committee on which a number of international organisations including the 
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Nuclear Energy Agency of the 
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are represented. The 
objective of this informal cooperation is to promote consistency and co-ordination of policies 
with respect to fundamental aspects of radiation safety (including principles, criteria and 
standards) and their transformation into regulatory terms; co-ordination of research and 
development; education and training; promotion of information exchange; transfer of 
technology and know-how ; and the provision of radiation safety services. 
AIR. WATER AND AGRICULTURE 
Cooperation takes place between the Commission and the WHO on air quality. The 
Commission provides GEMS (Global Environment Monitoring System - WHO/UN 
Environmental Programme) with data collected under the exchange of information on air 
pollution established by Council Decision 82/459/EEC<»> . The WHO is responsible for 
ascertaining the needs and wishes of policy makers in the field of air pollution and for the 
provision of the necessary scientific background. 
( ' Council Decision of 24 June 1982 establishing a reciprocal exchange of information and data from networks and individual stations measuring ; 
pollution within the Member States. (OJ L 210, 19. 7. 1982. p.l). 
8 
The Commission attends WHO consultations in other areas such as the revision of 
WHO guidelines on drinking water quality ; rabies eradication ; zoonoses and foodbome 
infections (the last with the WHO collaborating centre in Berlin). The Commission took part 
in a joint FAO/Pan American Health Oiganization/WHO technical consultatiori on food 
safety and commercialisation (Buenos Aires, April 1992) following the cholera epidemic in 
Latin America. 
The European Community participated as a ML member in the International 
Conference on Nutrition (ICN) which was organised jointly by FAO and WHO and was held 
in Rome in December 1992, The Commission co-ordinated the Community positions with 
the Member States throughout the Preparatory Conferences and the ICN itself. This allowed 
the Community to have a major part in the outcome of the Conference to which the 
Commission contributed also financially. The Conference unanimously approved the "World 
Declaration on Nutrition" and the "Plan of Action for Nutrition". 
ENVIRONMENT AND HEALTH 
The Commission is providing support to WHO in the organisation and realisation of 
the Second European Conference on Environment and Health (Helsinki, June 1994), which 
will be hosted by the Government of Finland. This Conference, is a follow-up to the first 
Conference (Frankfurt-am-Main, December 1989) at which a "European Charter on 
Environment and Health" was adopted jointly by the participating Ministers of the 
Environment and Health and signed by the Commission in the name of the Community. The 
main objective of the second conference is to adopt an action plan on prevention and control 
of environmental health hazards up to the end of the century. 
IV. COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT AID 
DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 
Cooperation in the area of development assistance is of a multilateral kind developed 
pragmatically through joint missions and joint ventures. 
Good examples of such cooperation are : 
joint health expenditures reviews 
Bangladesh, where the WHO is the executive body for a health programme which is 
co-financed by the World Bank, the Community and its Member Slates 
and Benin, where the WHO advises the government while the Commission chairs the 
group of donors. 
The Commission takes account of the recommendations of the WHO in establishing 
its own general policy and as regards some of the technical aspects of its interventions 
(policy on health districts, essential drugs, etc.). The Commission works with the WHO ic 
developing countries where the WHO is represented, attends the WHO conferences and ;%** 
meetings with the WHO programme staff. In the field, delegations and consultants make 
contact with the WHO representatives most frequently when projects are being iàfeti^-^ 
The programme to combat onchocerciasis in Africa funded by the Community and c'^ 
bodies, is executed by the WHO. J 
In implementing the programme for the fight against AIDS in third-world countries, 
cooperation and coordination of the Commission with the WHO within the scope of the 
WHO Global Programme on AIDS, aims for joint definition of strategies, agreement on the 
definition of short and long-term programmes in particular countries and coordinated 
execution of programmes at country level. 
Within the framework of the short- and long-term national programmes the 
Commission acts in liaison with the countries concerned and other financial supporters. 
Recent joint Commission/WHO activity in the field of AIDS has included a joint review 
mission in Thailand ; ad hoc meetings for operational coordination on India and Thailand ; 
co-organisation and financing of regional meetings in Dacca, Delhi, Caracas and Yaounde 
and of training courses for programme managers in Dakar and Antwerp ; and special joint 
research projects on AIDS between scientists from EC Member States and developing 
countries. 
The external evaluation report of the programme to combat AIDS, drawn up in 1992 
to define new guidelines for the programme within the framework of the Lomé IV 
Convention, endorsed the general approach adopted by the Commission. It recommended 
continued coordination with the WHO Global Programme on AIDS, while ensuring that the 
methodologies adopted and actions proposed fitted well with those defined by the National 
Committees. 
COOPERATION WITH EAST AND CENTRAL EUROPE AND THE REPUBLICS OF THE FORMER 
USSR 
The Commission's technical assistance programmes "PHARE" and "TAOS" are 
intended to provide support for the economic restructuring of the countries of East and 
Central Europe and the former Soviet Union. Work in the health sector has been growing in 
importance and has consequently involved cooperation with the WHO and other interested 
international organisations such as the World Bank and the European Bank for 
Reconstruction and Development. At the Washington and Lisbon conferences (1992) on 
assistance to the Republics of the former USSR, the WHO participated in the medical sub­
group and was invited to establish a clearing house on the health needs of those countries 
and the response being made to them. The WHO has also been requested in a number of 
cases to provide assistance particularly in the form of expert missions and evaluations and to 
help the Governments of the countries concerned to formulate their new priorities and 
policies. 
Technical support has been provided by the Commission in workshops set up by the 
WHO to explain the requirements of EC legislation to Central and Eastern European States 
on such subjects as safety and health at work. Similar arrangements have been made to 
present the Community's policies and programmes in the field of prevention of diseases and 
drug addiction. 
HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY AID 
The Commission has set up internally, with effect from 1 March 1992, a European 
Office for Emergency Humanitarian Aid (ECHO). This development is intended among 
other things to improve coordination between the Commission and Member States, other 
donors, non-governmental (NGO) and international organisations, including the WHO. 
Cooperation between the Commission and the WHO in the provision of humanitarian 
aid has taken place mainly in Central and South America and Eastern Europe. 
10 
The Commission has been providing regular financial support to the WHO medical 
programmes in Latin America, the most recent examples being the programmes in Peru 
related to cholera and in Haiti to alleviate the shortage of medicinal products. 
In Europe the substantial humanitarian aid activities of the Commission through the 
WHO have focussed on Bosnia-Herzegovina and the UN controlled areas in Croatia, 
providing medical kits to hospitals. In addition, while the NGO health programmes in the 
area are supported by the WHO, the Commission is a major contributor to the NGO 
activities. 
V. RESEARCH 
EC MEDICAL AND HEALTH RESEARCH 
The research objectives of the Community and the WHO complement one other 
within the broad spectrum of research related to medicine and health. The Community aims 
to improve the efficacity of medical and health research in Member States, in particular by 
better coordination of their activities and in the application of results through Community 
cooperation and the pooling of resources. 
Cooperation between the Commission and the WHO in the field of medical and 
health research has taken place at different levels, including programme formulation, project 
management and technical levels. 
To ensure that constructive collaboration occurs at programme formulation level it 
has been agreed that planning seminars would be jointly organised at which research 
priorities were identified. Further collaborative action took place through information 
exchanges, personal relationships with key members, participation in meetings (in particular 
concerning planning activities) and joint workshops. 
The WHO European Advisory Committee for Health Research (EACHR) has been 
attended by observers from the EC Management and Coordination Advisory Committee on 
Medical and Health Research (CGC). As the WHO European Region has a small operational 
research budget, it was agreed that input from the Region would be useful to the CGC in 
assisting with advice to the EC on priority setting and programme formulation. 
The WHO regularly attends meetings of the EC Working Party on AIDS Research 
and its subgroups, and also those of the Concerted Action Committees (COMACs) on Health 
Services Research and on Epidemiology. Project leaders of EC concerted actions have direct 
technical contacts with the WHO programme leaders. This has contributed to the 
development of joint collaborating centres such as the European Centre for the 
Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS (in Paris) and the EUROCAT Centre (in Brussels) for 
the registration of congenital abnormalities. 
HEALTH CARE INFORMATICS AND TELEMATICS 
The Commission administers the Advanced Informatics in Medicine (AIM) 
Exploratory Action, and from 1988 to 1990 received much support for it from the WHO, 
both with respect to epidemiological data and the definition of performance and quality 
assessment criteria to be integrated in health informatics systems. Individual projects have 
worked with the WHO, as the coordinating partner, on oral health and on chronic care 
management, in particular for diabetes. 
11 
In the EC Research and Development Programme on Telematics Applications of 
General Interest (3rd Framework Programme, 1990-1994), the WHO European Region is 
collaborating in 4 of the 37 projects administered by AIM. These concern the improvement 
of quality assurance in using telematic tools and the definition of European reference models 
to improve the effectiveness of community and primary health care services by means of 
specific telematic products. The WHO is the co-ordinating partner for the ORATEL project, 
which aims to develop a European telematic tool for education and training in quality 
assurance for oral health care. The WHO brings its European knowledge of the community 
and primary health care sectors to other partners in ISAAC (an information processing 
system relating to those sectors), in QUICHE (a telematics-based quality assurance 
programme for child health services, and in SHINE (an informatics community health care 
network in Europe). 
Within the ENS (European Nervous System) area of the Telematics Programme, the 
WHO is the coordinating partner for the CARE project. A major part of ENS is directed at 
identifying and defining a transeuropean communications network for administrations. The 
CARE project will provide fast and effective access to health statistics for national 
administrations through the use of telematics networks. 
The WHO also participates in Commission initiatives to develop telematic networks 
relating to the workplace. 
DEVELOPMENT RELATED RESEARCH 
The Community Programme "Life Sciences and Technologies for Developing 
Countries" (STD) cooperates with various WHO programmes on the basis of regular 
consultations especially with WHO's Special Programme for Research and Training in 
Tropical Diseases (TDR), WHO's Global Programme on AIDS, and the WHO Special 
Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction. The 
Commission is represented in the joint Coordinating Board of TDR and in the WHO 
Management Advisory Committee for the Children's Vaccine Initiative. 
The Community STD Programme was involved in the preparatory meetings for the 
WHO's Global Ministerial Conference on Malaria (Amsterdam, October 1992), and has 
participated in the Conference itself and its follow-up. 
Furthermore collaboration is increasing between the WHO, CEC and other private 
and public development bodies in areas of common interest such as vaccine development and 
disease control strategies. 
CONCLUSIONS 
Cooperation and mutual understanding between the Commission and the WHO, first 
formally recognized in 1972, has improved and developed in recent years, extending both in 
scope and depth. Further initiatives and joint projects are under consideration and other areas 
of possible cooperation are being identified. 
The ratification of the Treaty on European Union and in particular paragraph 3 of 
Article 129, which requires the Community to foster cooperation with third countries and the 
competent international organisations in the sphere of public health, will have an important 
bearing on the scope and form of such future relations between the Community and WHO. 
12 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(93) 224 final 
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