WRITTEN QUESTION E-1869/00 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission. Health passport for EU citizens.
Date: 2000-06-09
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU Member State, EU programme, electronic component, health legislation, identity document, international cooperation, medical data, technological change

18.4.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 113 E/47

In total, the Community has granted around € 240 million on Chernobyl and Chernobyl-related projects
since the nuclear reactor exploded in 1986, divided in three main areas, namely development of the new
shelter for the Unit 3, assessment and remediation of the health and environmental consequences of the
disaster, and assistance for de-commissioning operations and development of power replacement capacity

In addition, the Commission announced during the latest pledging conference in Berlin on 5 July a new
pledge of € 100 million as contribution for the shelter fund. Individual Member States have also made
large contributions to the Chernobyl shelter fund.

On 5 June, President Kuchma announced that the last operating unit of the Chernobyl power plant will be
definitively shut down on 15 December 2000. This decision and the timing are in line with Ukraine(cid:146)s long-
standing commitment to the G7. It is a significant breakthrough that will be widely welcomed by the
international community as a whole.

In the context of enlargement the Commission has considered nuclear safety an extremely important issue
in the enlargement negotiations with the candidate countries. The Commission issued in July 1997 the
report (cid:145)Agenda 2000 for a stronger and wider union(cid:146), which placed the issue of nuclear safety in the
candidate countries of central and eastern Europe in a political perspective. In this document, it was clearly
stated that the Union must protect the life and health of its present and future citizens. This implies that
the applicants should cooperate fully in the efforts to bring their levels of nuclear safety up to international
standards. This principle has guided all negotiations with the candidate countries. In this context, the
Commission, in its annual country reports, dedicated to the progress in those countries, has included an
evaluation of the nuclear safety.

(2001/C 113 E/042)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1869/00

by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission

(9 June 2000)

Subject: Health (cid:145)passport(cid:146) for EU citizens

Apparently in some EU countries there exists a kind of health card which is very useful for people
travelling abroad, as it contains information about the bearer(cid:146)s health history, blood group, allergies, etc.

1.

Could the Commission state the countries in which this useful document has been introduced?

2.
Does the Commission think that it would be a good idea (cid:129) in the light of the experience gained in
this area at national level (cid:129) to submit a proposal with a view to introducing a (cid:145)health passport(cid:146) in all the
Member States?

This would constitute an important health protection measure for anyone travelling abroad, provide
foreign health services with accurate information about the bearer if he requires emergency treatment and
help GPs make an accurate diagnosis of any diseases, particularly tropical diseases, that their patients
contract while travelling abroad.

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(26 July 2000)

In 1986, the Council, following among other things requests from the Parliament, adopted a resolution on
the adoption of a European emergency health card (1). This put forward a European model for a health
card on paper (the (cid:145)yellow card(cid:146)), to include certain information important for the emergency treatment of
the bearer of the card.

C 113 E/48

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2001

In 1989, the Commission submitted a report on the implementation of the Council resolution (2), which
found that some Member States had taken steps to introduce the cards, notably Germany, Luxembourg
and Portugal. Circulation of the card remained limited and its use was practically non-existent. As a result,
no significant progress has been made regarding the generalised introduction of the European emergency
health card.

The discussion on the introduction of a health card has received new impetus through the development of
electronic cards. In 1996, the Commission published a working paper on European health cards (3) which
indicated the important political, legal, administrative, technical and ethical issues to be tackled before
Community-wide introduction could be contemplated. It also pointed to several promising avenues such as
application for reimbursement purposes and enabling communication between a patient(cid:146)s doctor and the
medical establishment and the authorised consultation of medical records.

Introduction and use in the Community of smart cards in general are key elements of the Europe initiative
announced at the Lisbon European Council in March 2000. In the context of the Community(cid:146)s research
and technological development programme, a concerted action had been undertaken since 1993 to
harmonise the use of patient data cards for administrative, clinical and emergency applications in Europe.

This was followed by a feasibility study in 1996 in the context of co-operation with the group of seven
most industrialised countries.

Pilot studies have been launched in Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. It is expected that their
results will feed into the further development of smart cards under the eEurope initiative.

(1) OJ C 184, 23.7.1986.
(2) SEC(89) 1628 final.
(3) SEC(96) 1959.

(2001/C 113 E/043)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1889/00

by Elly Plooij-van Gorsel (ELDR) to the Commission

(16 June 2000)

Subject: Policy and expenditure on ICT in the European Union(cid:146)s external and development policy

The Internet has created numerous new opportunities, not only in such fields as education and health care
but also with regard to such issues as human rights, democratisation, the environment, the structure of
society and free access to information. The spread of the Internet and of worldwide telecommunications
technologies also holds out the prospect of new methods of learning which can be adapted to meet the
needs of developing countries. In the increasingly successful economies of South-East Asia, there is already
a high percentage of private investment, most of it effected through the market.

Does the Commission agree that ICT ought to be among the priorities of the European Union(cid:146)s

1.
development policy? If so, can it give examples of projects?

2. What percentage of development aid is specifically devoted to education in the field of Information
and Communication Technology?