WRITTEN QUESTION P-1835/01 by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Health implications of enlargement.
Date: 2001-06-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Central and Eastern European countries, EU programme, accession to the European Union, health aid, health control, health policy, public health

20.12.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 364 E/213

According to an unofficial report, the Director-General of the Ispra centre announced to the research staff
last week that one of the four institutes operating at Ispra was to be closed.

1.

Can the Commission confirm the report?

If so, is the closure to be interpreted as a move towards possible future conversion, reorganisation, or

2.
the breakup of the Ispra centre?

Answer given by Mr Busquin on behalf of the Commission

(30 July 2001)

The Joint Research Centre(cid:146)s (JRC) Ispra site currently comprises four Institutes: Environment (EI), Space
Applications (SAI), Health and Consumer Protection (IHCP) and Systems, Informatics and Safety (ISIS).

An independent assessment panel concluded that there was a (cid:145)substantial overlap(cid:146) between the activities of
SAI, and those of EI and ISIS. These findings are confirmed by an internal audit carried out within the JRC.

Moreover, the objectives of SAI are technology focussed, whereas the other Institutes have clear links to
Community policies.

The Commission will therefore re-organise these three Institutes into two new ones that will be identified
with policy objectives rather than a particular technology.

One institute will be a focus for activities whose main objective is to maintain Europe(cid:146)s increasingly
vulnerable environment (cid:129) both by supporting Community environmental policies and by supporting the
integration of an environmental component into other policies. Emphasis will be given to supporting the
strategy for sustainable development.

The other institute will aim to provide better protection of the security of the individual, the taxpayer and,
increasingly, the consumer.

The principle of these changes has been explained to the staff that will be involved in the re-organisation.

These changes are part of a wider initiative to focus and concentrate more the JRC(cid:146)s activities on the key
priorities linked to its mission in support of Community policies. They are designed to ensure that the JRC
has a sustainable future, integrated into the European Research Area. There are therefore no plans for the
breakup of the Ispra centre.

(2001/C 364 E/234)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1835/01

by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(18 June 2001)

Subject: Health implications of enlargement

The Treaty of Maastricht brought public health matters within the EU(cid:146)s sphere of competence, subject to
compliance with the subsidiarity principle. Community action in this field is directed towards the
prevention of diseases, in particular the major health scourges, by promoting research into their causes and
their transmission, as well as health information and education.

Health is not one of the absolute priorities with a view to enlargement, although it is used as an indicator
of the problems and challenges to be overcome by the candidate countries of Central and Eastern Europe,
and it should therefore be accorded proper importance in the transition policies. Health is an essential
factor in economic development and should be recognised and treated as a priority.

C 364 E/214

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.12.2001

According to a Commission working document (SEC(1999) 713 of June 1999), the health situation in the
CEECs, particularly as regards communicable diseases,
is increasingly alarming. Most of the candidate
countries have yet to adopt a modern approach to surveillance, have poorly-equipped laboratories and
inadequate resources and find it difficult
to maintain appropriate systems for the notification of
communicable diseases. Migration is expected to increase following accession, and this brings with it
a greater risk that communicable diseases, particularly sexually transmitted diseases, will spread.

Furthermore, the social and financial status of health-care professionals and the incentives provided in
those countries compare very unfavourably with those in the EU Member States. This has an adverse effect
on the motivation of health-care professionals in those countries, and one can therefore expect there to be
a strong tendency for those among them who speak foreign languages to emigrate.

Given the above, what support measures does the Commission intend to take, possibly in conjunction with
the EIB, to help improve this situation?

Is it planning to involve the candidate countries in Fifth framework programme activities in the health
field?

Is it considering the introduction of an aid scheme aimed a stepping up exchanges of experience relating
to the use of information systems and technologies in health care?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2001)

The Commission fully agrees with the Honourable Member on the important health challenges that the
candidate countries are faced with. The Union must therefore play its full part in assisting the candidate
countries to address these problems, using all the available means. In its negotiations with the candidate
countries, the Community has therefore stressed the importance it attaches to assuring a high level of
human health protection in the definition and implementation of all Community policies.

In this context, the Commission is taking action on a number of fronts with the aim of providing practical
support and assistance to the candidate countries. These include first encouraging the candidate countries
to participate actively in the Community(cid:146)s public health activities, such as the Community network for the
epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases, which was set up by Parliament and
Council Decision No 2119/98/EC of 24 September 1998 setting up a network for the epidemiological
surveillance and control of communicable diseases in the Community (1). The candidate countries are also
invited to develop a health monitoring system in order to obtain health data and indicators comparable
with the Community health monitoring system, and to report to the Union on progress achieved.

In addition, the candidate countries are being encouraged to participate in the proposed new public health
programme from its outset. Furthermore, they have been invited to provide detailed information on how
they are preparing for Community activities in the field of public health (Article 152 (ex Article 129) of the
EC Treaty) and on the likely changes that are needed to their health system because of these activities.
They are also encouraged to participate in the Fifth framework research and technological development
programme activities in the health field.

More generally, the Commission is in contact with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the relevant
international organisations, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), to strengthen co-operation in
providing assistance and support to the candidate countries.

(1) OJ L 268, 3.10.1998.