WRITTEN QUESTION E-1852/00 by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Health Action Plan.
Date: 2000-06-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: competence of the Member States, health care

20.2.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 53 E/193

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(17 July 2000)

Attendance at the meetings of the scientific committees is restricted to the members of a committee and to
Commission officials. Representatives of Member States(cid:146) governments and of interest groups never attend
committee meetings, in order to ensure the independence of the committees.

For the same reason of
representatives of the Central and Eastern European countries to attend those meetings.

independence of

the committees,

it

is thus not possible for government

However, membership of scientific committees is not restricted to scientists who are citizens of the Union.
Scientists from third countries can thus apply for membership and may be selected.

Representatives of the 13 candidate countries can participate, as observers and for the points which
concern them, in management committees responsible for monitoring the Community programmes in
which these countries participate and to which they have contributed financially.

For other matters, in particular the implementation of Community legislation, the Association Council
(composed of representatives of the Community and its Member States, on the one hand, and of each of
the candidate countries, on the other) has to establish to which degree the (cid:145)acquis communautaire(cid:146) has
been not only transposed into their internal order but applied by the candidate country in question. It is
related to this statement that the Commission will decide on a case-by-case basis on their participation.

In the meantime the Commission will inform the candidate countries of the most important developments
in the regular meetings held in the framework of the pre-accession strategy.

(2001/C 53 E/250)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1852/00

by Charles Tannock (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(9 June 2000)

Subject: Health Action Plan

Can the Commission state whether it believes that the prioritisation of resources from health treatment
should remain the prerogative of individual Member States, as laid down in the Consolidated Treaty, and, if
so, whether it believes that there is a danger that the proposed new Health Action Plan, by highlighting the
different priorities accorded to the treatment of certain conditions in the various Member States, could
provoke a rash of both domestic litigation and appeals to the European Court of Human Rights in
Strasbourg?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(19 July 2000)

The Commission is duty bound to ensure that Community action in the field of public health fully respects
the responsibilities of the Member States for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical
care.

The proposal for a decision of the Parliament and of the Council adopting a programme of action in the
field of public health aims to improve health information and knowledge, build up capacity in the
Community to respond rapidly to health threats, and tackle the roots of ill-health through the development
of health promotion and disease prevention measures. The proposed decision respects the aforementioned
responsibilities of the Member States and contains appropriate provisions to ensure that implementation of
the programme will be carried out in full compliance with the requirements of the EC Treaty.