WRITTEN QUESTION E-0784/02 by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Cancer screening.
Date: 2002-03-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: cancer, disease prevention, health policy, information network, medical research, organisation of health care

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Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

29.8.2002

(2002/C 205 E/236)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0784/02

by Brice Hortefeux (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(20 March 2002)

Subject: Cancer screening

As the Commission is surely aware, women account for more than half the world’s population. In the
European Union, one in every eight women contracts breast cancer. According to a recent WHO
statement, every seven minutes a woman dies of this disease in the EU and breast cancer is the main cause
of mortality among women between the ages of 35 and 55.

Against this background, it is unacceptable that women patients should have access to varying standards of
care within the EU. The problem is not dependent on costs but on the way in which medical care is
organised. It is therefore important to note that qualitative improvements will eventually lead to cost
reductions for European social security systems.

In view of the above, when can we expect:

. standard oncological registers to be set up, making it possible to improve exchanges of information
between scientists and researchers on the basis of comparable and centralised data (on the model of
the EHLASS database, which was set up at European level in respect of home accidents)?

. far more extensive,

intensive and speedy procedures to be made available for the pooling of

experiences on existing therapies relating to all types of cancer?

. breast-cancer research and screening centres to be set up so as to provide one centre for 300 000 EU

inhabitants?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(29 April 2002)

The Commission would like to reassure the Honourable Member that since the first Europe against Cancer
programme in 1987, the Commission has set up and co-financed a European Network of Cancer Registries
(ENCR), which is co-ordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO)/International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France. This network has managed to jointly develop European
standards for comparability of data on cancer incidence and mortality collected by high class national or
regional population based cancer registries throughout the Union. These standards are at present the
template for other medical
registries which followed, e.g. European Home and Leisure Accident
Surveillance System (Ehlass). The network covers about 50 % of all European citizens. It has developed
two different databases, the EUCAN database for the general public, which is accessible via the Internet, as
well as the EuroCim database and analysis tools for scientists working in the field of cancer epidemiology.

Article 152 (5) of the EC Treaty, stipulates that any Community action in the field of public health shall
fully respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the organisation and delivery of health services
and medical care. Therefore, the EC Treaty does not allow the Commission to set up interdisciplinary
centres for breast cancer research and care in the Member States or to require the Member States to do so.
However, the Community has supported and continues to support the development of European best
practice in cancer therapy mainly by its research programmes.

Additionally, the European Breast Cancer Network (EBCN), which managed with the longstanding support
of the Europe against cancer programme in developing European best practice in breast cancer prevention,
widened its scope to include the development of best practice on treatment and care for those European
women, which were identified in the participating screening centres, as suffering from breast cancer. A
well known output from this network is the European Guidelines for Quality Assurance Mammographic
Screening, of which the third Edition had just been published in July 2001 by the Office for Official

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Official Journal of the European Communities

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the European Communities in Luxembourg (1). Some Member States lacking national
Publication of
screening programmes up to now have embarked in setting up nation-wide breast cancer screening
programmes based on the European guidelines.

(1)

ISBN 92-894-1145-7.

(2002/C 205 E/237)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0793/02

by Peter Skinner (PSE), Torben Lund (PSE)
and Helle Thorning-Schmidt (PSE) to the Commission

(21 March 2002)

Subject: Compliance with Directive 89/48/EEC and discrimination against foreigners

One of the preconditions of a well-functioning single market is non-discrimination against labour from
other Member States. Unfortunately, many Member States still seem to fail to comply with Directive
89/48/EEC (1). This problem is well
illustrated by a case from Great Britain in which the British
Psychological Society (BPS)
is refusing to recognise a Danish psychologist’s (Cand. Psych) university
diploma. Therefore, the person in question is unable to obtain membership of the BPS and consequently is
excluded from practising in Great Britain.

We believe it to be a general cause for concern that when assessing foreign diplomas, both private and
public institutions often do not grant the diplomas their rightful legal value. This means that EU citizens
cannot practise their occupation on equal terms.

In the above-mentioned case . which resembles other cases of market discrimination . the BPS is
ensuring for its own members an unfair preferential market position by being able to control access by
psychologists from other EU Member States. In addition, the BPS handles cases so slowly that most
applicants are likely to give up pursuing their rights.

In this case, the person in question has a legal adviser and Eurojus to support her case. Both state that the
BPS is not complying with Directive 89/48/EEC.

Therefore, we ask the Commission to state how it intends to ensure that Member States comply with
Directive 89/48/EEC and also to state whether it knows of this case or about other similar cases. Finally,
we would like the Commission to specify which measures it intends to take in order to ensure that
psychologists and other professionals educated in one EU Member State will be able to practise in another.

(1) OJ L 19, 24.1.1989, p. 16.

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(23 April 2002)

With regard to the general question asked by the Honourable Members on the application of Council
Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education
diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years’ duration,
the Commission would like to point out that, since the end of the period for transposing this Directive
(4 January 1991), it has known of only a few cases of persistent violation of this Directive by the Member
States. In addition, once the Commission has identified national regulations or administrative practices
which are contrary to Directive 89/48/EEC, it systematically starts infringement proceedings which may, if
needs be,
Justice as the body responsible for examining such
infringements. These procedures are carried out as quickly as possible, in view of the need to confirm the
facts of the matter and obtain the relevant information.

lead to a referral

to the Court of