WRITTEN QUESTION E-0420/01 by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission. Testing for cervical cancer.
Date: 2001-02-16
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: cancer, disease prevention, health policy

4.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 340 E/25

(2001/C 340 E/031)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0420/01

by Heidi Hautala (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(16 February 2001)

Subject: Testing for cervical cancer

Each year, thousands of European women die from cervical cancer because of the inadequacies of the
current testing system. Recent studies by the German Universities of Hanover and T(cid:252)bingen reveal that
more than half of all pap smears are inaccurate.

What measures, if any, does the Commission intend to take to improve the detection rate for cervical
cancer? Will it encourage Member States to introduce systematic testing?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(11 June 2001)

Under the (cid:145)Europe against Cancer(cid:146) programme, a European network for screening for cervical cancer has
been set up, which develops a consensus on the best practice for secondary prevention of cervical cancer
by screening. To this end a consensus conference on screening for cancer including cervical, breast,
prostate and other cancers was held in November 1999 in Vienna. The (cid:145)Advisory Committee on Cancer
Prevention(cid:146), which advises the Commission on all issues related to the prevention of cancer, delivered a set
of recommendations on cancer prevention by screening. The Commission plans to propose Council
Recommendations on Screening for Cancer, based on these recommendations.

(2001/C 340 E/032)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0422/01

by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Council

(20 February 2001)

Subject: European interests in the Mediterranean

Despite the lack of multilateral cooperation in the western Mediterranean over the last nine years due, inter
alia, to the violence in Algeria and the international embargo of Libya, two events of fundamental
importance for the area have occurred during this period: the launch of the Middle East peace negotiations
in 1991 and the establishment of the Barcelona Process in 1995.

The positive approach adopted by Libya, which has participated in the cooperation group of Interior
Ministers of western Mediterranean countries since 1999 and is an observer to the Barcelona Process,
Mauritania(cid:146)s withdrawal
(ECOWAS) on
31 December 2000 and the resumption, on 25 January in Lisbon, of the work of the (cid:145)5+5(cid:146) Group for
Euromediterranean cooperation (cid:129) composed of the Foreign Affairs Ministers of the five countries of the
Arab Maghreb Union and the European Latin Rim countries (Spain, Italy, France and Portugal), plus
Malta (cid:129) are clear signs of a gradual rapprochement that must prevail in the Mediterranean.

from the Economic Community of West African States

What is the Council(cid:146)s political assessment of these recent events? What are the Council(cid:146)s priorities for
promoting European interests in this part of the Mediterranean? What steps does it intend to take to
further this process of rapprochement?

Reply

(10 July 2001)

In recent months the EU has worked actively, both at multilateral and regional level and bilaterally, to
promote the stability and development of the Mediterranean region and the EU(cid:146)s interests in the area.