WRITTEN QUESTION P-2259/03 by Linda McAvan (PSE) to the Commission. Information to patients.
Date: 2003-07-01
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU initiative, consumer information, medicinal product, pharmaceutical legislation, pharmaceutical product

C 11 E/254

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.1.2004

Once quarantine for animals has been abolished, what permanent measures will the Commission take

1.
to assist European efforts to combat rabies?

2.
Is the Commission providing any form of support for action by future Member States to reduce the
incidence of rabies, for instance by taking the initiative of laying bait dosed with vaccine in areas at risk, so
as to make it possible to prevent the spread of rabies?

Answer given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(25 July 2003)

The Commission is aware of the rabies situation in certain new Member States. It is comparable to that
prevailing in Germany and France before large-scale wild-animal vaccination programmes were launched
in the past decade with Community financial assistance, with spectacular results. Eradication of the disease
over vast areas still infected in the mid-90s can now be considered imminent.

The Commission quickly realised that extension of these programmes to the new Member States had to be
given priority. Under Council Decision 90/424/EEC on expenditure in the veterinary field (1)
the
Community has for several years been assisting programmes going beyond the EU’s frontiers into Poland
and the Czech Republic.

the coming years, at

Over
the Commission’s instigation such efforts will be financed under the
PHARE programme, and financial assistance can now be considered assured for the programmes presented
by Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia.

In the case of Estonia aid of EUR 2 million has been available since signature of the Financial Memorandum
in November 2002. Launching of the programme under the supervision of Agriculture Ministry is
accordingly imminent.

It would be wrong to think that enlargement will mean no more quarantine for animals from the new
Member States. At the moment there is in fact no quarantine required in the case of such movements
except for carnivores entering Ireland, Sweden or the United Kingdom. The rules governing livestock such
as horses will not therefore be modified as a result of accession of the new Member States. For domestic
carnivores, the recently adopted Parliament and Council Regulation (EC) No 998/2003 of 26 May 2003 on
the animal health requirements applicable to movement of these species (2) takes due account of the
imminent enlargement in its provisions on animals coming from these countries.

The only adequate response to the rabies problem in an enlarged Europe therefore lies in wild-animal
vaccination programmes in the new Member States. In planning for a large financial contribution to these
the Commission has done its part to see that everything is in place to facilitate their execution with all
rapidity.

(1) OJ L 224, 18.8.1990.
(2) OJ L 146, 13.6.2003.

(2004/C 11 E/283)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2259/03

by Linda McAvan (PSE) to the Commission

(1 July 2003)

Subject: Information to patients

Given that the proposed pilot scheme for patient information in the pharmaceutical review was rejected by
the European Parliament and the Council, what steps is the Commission now proposing in view of the

15.1.2004

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Official Journal of the European Union

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work of the G10 Medicines group to ensure that patients receive good quality objective information about
what drugs and treatments are available to them?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(18 July 2003)

Under the framework of the G10 Medicines initiative, the Commission will explore with stakeholders ways
to improve the provision of information on available prescription and non-prescription medicines. To take
this forward, the Commission will reflect on establishing a public private partnership involving a range of
interested parties including representatives from public bodies,
industry, health funds, health care
professionals and patients. This body could be used to advise and monitor the quality of existing
information and produce guidelines in specific areas to support the work of national and Community
regulatory authorities.

Commission work in this area will be supported by other projects including the work of the European
Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (EMEA) is undertaking with patient organisations to
consider new ways of ensuring that information on medicines takes more account of patient needs.

(2004/C 11 E/284)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2281/03

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission

(9 July 2003)

Subject: Town twinning

What will
programmes, taking account of the lower per capita income in these countries?

the Commission do to assist

the acceding countries to participate in town twinning

Answer given by Ms Reding on behalf of the Commission

(4 August 2003)

Towns and municipalities in the candidate countries have already been taking part in the Commission’s
‘town twinning’ programme for several years, and the participation of these towns is increasing all the
time. The simplified system of awarding subsidies, which is based on flat-rate amounts, is particularly
conducive to the participation of small municipalities with limited financial and operational resources.

(2004/C 11 E/285)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2537/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Net contribution to the common agricultural policy

(29 July 2003)

In the second report on economic and social cohesion in the EU the Commission stated that Portugal was
a net contributor to the common agricultural policy (CAP).

In answer to my Written Question P-0897/01 (1) the Commission produced the figures on which it had
based that assertion. According to the Commission, Portugal’s net contribution to the CAP between 1989
and 1998 amounted to EUR 2 000 m, in other words over EUR 260 per inhabitant.