Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council - Implementation of the Public Health Programme in 2007
Date: 2008-07-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU programme, health policy, public health, report

EN 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 23.7.2008 
COM(2008) 482 final 

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Implementation of the Public Health Programme in 2007 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND 
THE COUNCIL 

Implementation of the Public Health Programme in 2007 

(Text with EEA relevance) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Under Article 12(1) of Decision No 1786/2002/EC of the European Parliament and 
of the Council of 23 September 2002 adopting a programme of Community action in 
the field of public health (2003-2008)1, the Commission must regularly monitor the 
implementation  of  the  actions  under  the  programme  in  the  light  of  the  objectives. 
This  report  aims  to  inform  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  the 
implementation of the Public Health Programme in 2007. A report on the first four 
years of the Programme can be found on the Europa website2. 

2. 

HEALTH POLICY IN 2007 

2.1. 

2007  was  a  year  of  major  policy  achievements  for  the  Health  and  Consumer 
Protection  Directorate-General,  as  it  was  marked  by  the  adoption  of  the  Second 
Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health (2008-13) and of the White 
Paper “Together for Health, a Strategic Approach for the EU 2008-2013”. 

Second Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health (2008-13) 
The Second Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health (2008-13)3 
was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council on 23 October 2007. It is 
structured  around  three  strands  (improve  citizens’  health  security,  promote  health, 
generate  and  disseminate  health  information  and  knowledge)  and  has  a  financial 
envelope of EUR 321 500 000. It is intended to complement, support and add value 
to  the  policies  of  the  Member  States  and  contribute  to  increased  solidarity  and 
prosperity  in  the  European  Union  by  protecting  and  promoting  human  health  and 
safety and by improving public health. 

2.2. 

The EU health strategy 

The  White  Paper  “Together  for  Health,  a  Strategic  Approach  for  the  EU  2008-
2013”4  was  adopted  on  23 October 2007.  It  brings  together  in  a  coherent  and 
comprehensive framework a range of EU policies that impact on health. Its aims are 
to foster good health in an ageing Europe by promoting good health throughout the 
lifespan, to protect citizens from health threats including communicable diseases and 
patient safety, and to support dynamic health systems and new technologies. 

(1) 
1 
2 
3 

4 

OJ L 271, 9.10.2002, p. 1. 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/health/ph_programme/keydo_programme_2003_2008_en.htm. 
Decision  No  1350/2007/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  23 October 2007 
establishing  a  second  programme  of  Community  action  in  the  field  of  health  (2008-13),  OJ  L  301, 
20.11.2007, p. 3. 
COM(2007) 630 final, 23.10.2007. 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
It sets out principles to underpin health policy: the need for a value-driven approach, 
health  and  wealth,  strengthening  the  EU’s  voice  in  global  health  and  integration  of 
health  in  all  policies.  In  this  respect,  the  Commission  ensures  that  there  is  an 
assessment of the impact on health of major policies and actions developed. 

3. 

BUDGET OUTLINE FOR 2007 

The  programme’s  overall  budget  for  2003-2008  was  EUR 354 million.  The  budget 
for 2007 was estimated at EUR 41 870 000 in Commission Decision 2007/102/EC of 
12 February 2007  adopting  the  work  plan  for  2007  for  the  implementation  of  the 
programme of Community action in the field of public health (2003-2008), including 
the annual work programme for grants5. The operating budget and the administrative 
budget were estimated respectively at EUR 40 638 000 and EUR 1 232 000. 

4. 

GRANTS 

4.1. 

Call for proposals 

A single call for proposals, covering all work plan activities for 2007, was published 
on  16 February 2007  and  closed  on  20 May 2007.  It  was  published  in  the  Official 
Journal6, on the website of the Executive Agency for the Public Health Programme 
(PHEA)7 and on the Europa website8. 

An Information Day took place in Luxembourg on 28 February for stakeholders and 
public health professionals interested in submitting proposals under the Public Health 
Programme (2003-2008). In addition to this, national Information Days were held in 
Vilnius, Warsaw, Madrid, Seville, Rome, Sofia and Lisbon. 

The indicative amount for the call for proposals was EUR 33 888 000. 

A  total  of  222  applications  were  submitted  for  the  three  strands  (93  for  Health 
Information,  17  for  Health  Threats  and  112  for  Health  Determinants).  Seven 
applications  were  excluded  during  the  screening  and  selection  phase,  because  the 
proposals  had  not  been  submitted  on  time  or  were  incomplete.  The  remaining  215 
proposals were submitted to peer review panels composed of independent experts to 
assess  all  the  criteria  covered  by  Commission  Decision  2007/103/EC  laying  down 
general  principles  and  criteria  for  the  selection  and  funding  of  actions  under  the 
Public  Health  Programme  (2003-2008)9,  and  also  of  officials  from  the  Health  and 
Consumer  Protection  Directorate-General  responsible  for  assessing  the  policy-
relevant criteria. 

An  Evaluation  Committee,  composed  of  representatives  of  the  Commission’s 
Directorates-General  for  Health  and  Consumer  Protection  and  for  Research, 
Directorate-General  Eurostat  and  the  PHEA,  produced  a  final  list  of  proposals 
recommended  for  funding  per  strand  and  a  single  consolidated  reserve  list,  and 
agreed on the proposals to be rejected. 

(1) 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 

EN 

OJ L 46, 16.2.2007, p. 27. 
OJ C 34, 16.02.2007, p. 11. 
http://ec.europa.eu/phea/documents/Call_text_2007.pdf. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/dyna/whatsnew/whatsnew_en.cfm. 
OJ L 46, 16.2.2007, p. 45. 

3 

   EN 

 
                                                 
The  final  list  of  proposals  recommended  for  funding,  the  consolidated  reserve  list 
and proposals to be rejected were submitted to 39 external evaluators. As a result of 
the evaluation process, a list of 63 projects (23 for Health Information, 11 for Health 
Threats  and  29  for  Health  Determinants)  and  a  reserve  list  of  11  projects  (8  for 
Health  Information  and  3  for  Health  Determinants)  were  drawn  up,  respectively 
totalling EUR 37 575 948 and EUR 4 523 107. 

Statistical  information  on  the  2007  call  for  proposals  is  available  in  “Statistical 
Analysis of 2007 Call for Proposals in the Public Health Programme”, published on 
the PHEA website10. 

In September 2007, the Committee for the implementation of the Community action 
programme  on  public  health  (2003-2008)  gave  a  favourable  opinion  to  finance  the 
proposals selected by the evaluation procedure. 

4.2. 

Calls for tender 

A number of actions were initiated either by launching calls for tender or by using 
the existing framework contracts. The most significant are listed below: 

–  A production of a TV spot on nutrition that was shown during UEFA Champions 
League football matches. Creation costs were borne by the advertising agency that 
won a contest and the Commission covered production costs. 

–  Continuation  of  the  maintenance,  development  and  promotion  of  the  Public 

Health Portal of the European Union11. 

–  Development of a web-based information tool on indoor air quality in cooperation 

with the Joint Research Centre (JRC). 

–  An administrative agreement with the JRC for follow-up of the WHO Framework 
Convention on Tobacco Control, for scientific support and for analysis of tobacco 
ingredients. 

–  Further development of the Generic Rapid Alert System and software for the EU 
Health  Emergency  Operating  Facilities.  Further  development  of  the  EU  crisis 
management infrastructure. 

–  Guidelines  for  application  of  the  Community  standards  and  specifications  in 

relation to quality systems for blood/blood components and tissues and cells. 

–  Several  workshops  and  conferences  which  brought 

together  scientists, 

stakeholders and public authorities. 

–  Several  impact  assessments,  including  one  on  Health  Services  and  Health 

Strategy. 

4.3. 

Cooperation with international organisations 

The  Commission  has  further  enhanced  its  collaboration  with  the  World  Health 
Organisation  (WHO),  as  a  result  of  having  signed  in  March 2007  contracts  for 
seven new joint projects worth a total of EUR 4 242 963, 60% of which is funded by 
the  Community  Public  Health  Programme  (2003-2008).  The  contracts  cover  EU 
health policy priorities on environment and health, injuries,  equity in health, health 

(1) 
10 
11 

EN 

http://ec.europa.eu/phea/documents/10_QAbis.pdf. 
http://health.europa.eu. 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                 
security,  health  services,  alcohol  and  emergency  services.  The  projects  will  be 
implemented by WHO Europe over a period of three years. 

A  high-level  meeting  between  Dr  Margaret  Chan,  Director-General  of  the  WHO, 
Commission  President  Barroso  and  Commissioners  Kyprianou  and  Potočnik  took 
place  on  12 June 2007  to  discuss  strategic  health  priorities,  such  as  the  health 
consequences  of  climate  change,  global  health  security,  and  improving  health 
outcomes  in  Africa.  A  Senior  Officials  Meeting  between  the  WHO  and  the 
Commission was organised on 18 October 2007. 

As  regards  cooperation  with  the  Organisation  for  Economic  Cooperation  and 
Development  (OECD),  contracts  between  the  OECD  and  the  Commission  were 
signed  in  June 2007,  and  during  the  European  Health  Forum  in  Gastein  in 
October 2007  the  OECD organised  a workshop  on  “Health  workforce  shortage  and 
migration”.  Among  other  OECD  meetings,  the  Commission  attended  the  OECD 
correspondents’  meeting  in  Paris  in  October 2007.  Building  on  the  results  from  the 
pilot  data  collection  on  the  migration  of  health  professionals  under  the  OECD 
“Health Workforce and Migration Project”12, the OECD Secretariat proposed that a 
new  regular  data  collection  on  the  migration  of  health  professionals  under  OECD 
Health  Data  should  focus  as  much  as  possible  on  foreign-trained  doctors,  as  a  key 
element  in  assessing  the  role  and  impact  of  the  international  mobility  of  doctors. 
Joint work with Eurostat and the WHO continued on the System of Health Accounts, 
also under the framework of the direct agreement. 

4.4. 

Sub-delegation to Eurostat 
In accordance  with  Section 2.5, Annex  I, of the Work  Plan for 200713,  a  budget of 
EUR 400 000  was  set  aside  for  sub-delegation  to  Eurostat  for  the  purposes  of 
supporting: 

(1)  national  statistical  authorities  in  the  implementation  in  2007-2008  of  the 
European Health Interview Survey (EHIS) core modules (as defined in the Statistical 
Programme for 2007); 

(2) national statistical authorities in the implementation and further expansion of the 
System of Health Accounts in the EU (in cooperation with the OECD and the WHO). 

For  the  first  of  these  activities,  EUR 200 000  was  sub-delegated.  In  June 2007 
Eurostat  launched  a  call  for  proposals  restricted  to the  institutions  belonging  to  the 
European Statistical System and 13 applications were received. The evaluation of the 
applications  –  in  which  a  representative  of  the  Health  and  Consumer  Protection 
Directorate-General  participated  –  resulted  in  11  applications  being  accepted.  The 
sub-delegated  budget  of  EUR 200 000 
together  with  EUR 555 716.15  from 
Eurostat’s own budget planned for the implementation of EHIS resulted in an overall 
amount  of  EUR 755 716.15,  which  was  used  for  11  grants  given  to  EU  Member 
States. The sub-delegated budget of EUR 200 000 was totally consumed (committed 
to the grants for two countries: Cyprus and Latvia). 

For  the  second,  EUR 200 000  was  sub-delegated.  In  July 2007  Eurostat  launched  a 
call  for  proposals  restricted  to the  institutions  belonging  to  the  European  Statistical 
System  and  seven  countries  applied  for  a  grant  for  this  specific  project.  The 

(1) 
12 
13 

EN 

http://www.oecd.org/document/47/0,3343,en_2649_33931_36506543_1_1_1_1,00.html. 
OJ L 46, 16.2.2007, p. 27. 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
evaluation  of  the  applications  resulted  in  all  seven  applications  being  accepted  and 
the  sum  of  EUR 165 160.31  was  committed,  which  amounts  to  82.6%  of  the 
estimated budget for this project. 

5. 

STRUCTURAL SUPPORT 

5.1. 

Executive Agency for the Public Health Programme 

Technical, scientific and administrative assistance needed to implement the 2007 call 
for  proposals  was  provided  by  the  Executive  Agency  for  the  Public  Health 
Programme (PHEA), which was set up by Decision 2004/858/EC14. It organised the 
2007  call  for  proposals,  coordinated  the  evaluation  of  the  projects  submitted,  and 
negotiated and signed the related grant agreements. 

6. 

PUBLIC HEALTH PROGRAMME 2003-2008: INTERIM EVALUATION 
As required by Article 12(3) of Decision No 1786/2002/EC15, an external assessment 
of  the  first  three  years’  implementation  and  achievements  of  the  programme  was 
carried out. The Final Report was finalised and published in 2007 and made available 
on  the  Europa  site16.  Although  the  evaluation  drew  largely  positive  conclusions, 
some recommendations have been proposed and taken into account in an action plan 
already  partly  implemented.  The  conclusions  of  the  evaluation  were  communicated 
to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and  Social 
Committee and the Committee of the Regions in 2008. 

7. 

MAIN ACTIVITIES IN 2007 

7.1. 

Health information 

The preparation of the implementation report on the Council Recommendation of 
2 December 2003 on cancer screening17 started in February 2007. A questionnaire 
was  sent  to  the  Member  States  during  the  summer  and  answers  from  18  Member 
States  were  received.  The  questionnaire  provides  one  of  the  pillars  of  the  report. 
Further  data  are  provided  by  the  International  Agency  on  Research  on  Cancer 
(IARC) in the framework of several Public Health Programme projects. The report is 
expected to be published during the second quarter of 2008. 

The preparation for the Commission Communication on a European action in the 
field  of  rare  diseases  started  in  spring  2007.  The  European  Conference  on  Rare 
Diseases  was  held  in  Lisbon  under  the  Portuguese  Presidency,  and  the  public 
consultation18 for the communication was announced during the conference. 

(1) 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 

EN 

OJ L 369, 16.12.2004, p. 73. 
OJ L 271, 9.10.2002, p. 1. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_programme/documents/evaluation/PHP_evaluation_en.pdf. 
OJ L 327, 16.12.2003, p. 34. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_threats/non_com/cons_rare_dis_en.htm. 

6 

   EN 

 
                                                 
7.2. 

Health threats 

The  most  important  disease  incidents  notified  during  2007  by  the  EU’s  Early 
Warning and Response System (EWRS), set up by Decision No 2119/98/EC19, were 
related  to:  the  Chikungunya  fever  outbreak  in  Italy,  haemorrhagic  fever  caused  by 
Ebola  Virus  in  Uganda,  an  HBV  vaccine  adverse  event  in  Vietnam,  the  multidrug 
resistant  tuberculosis  incident  affecting  a  US  citizen  travelling  from  the  US  to  the 
EU, a Salmonella Tennessee event, and a legionellosis event involving EU tourists in 
Thailand. In addition to these incidents, a number of messages related to information 
about  the  measures  planned  or  implemented  in  the  Member  States  to  respond  to 
avian influenza outbreaks either within or outside the EU were posted. The operation 
of  the  EWRS  informatics  tool  was  successfully  transferred  to  the  European  Centre 
for  Disease  Prevention  and  Control  (ECDC).  After  testing,  the  application  was  put 
online on 17 November 2007 with the Commission continuing to ensure coordination 
of national measures, as provided for in the Community legislation on communicable 
disease. 

The  EU  Member  States’  Preparedness  Plan  assessment  is  a  two-year  process.  This 
work  began  in  the  first  quarter  of  2005  and  ended  in  October 2007.  In  2007,  the 
Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General actively participated within the 
joint  ECDC-WHO-EC  assessment  team  in  visiting  seven  Member  States:  Malta, 
Finland, Cyprus, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Estonia and Romania. The observation was that 
all Member States had made significant efforts to improve their preparedness plans 
and  each  country  highlighted  certain  domains  of  expertise.  In  view  of  this,  several 
Member  States  were  asked  to  present  their  best  practices  and  to  exchange  their 
experiences  at  the  fourth  joint  EC-ECDC-WHO  Workshop  on  Pandemic 
Influenza  Preparedness20,  held  in  Luxembourg  in  2007.  It  brought  together 
representatives not just from the 27 EU countries, but from all 53 countries covered 
by  the  WHO’s  Office  for  Europe.  Internationally  reputed  experts  were  invited  to 
present  the  latest  developments  in  scientific  research  on  flu,  bird  flu  and  flu 
pandemics.  The  workshop  provided  an  opportunity  for  an  exchange  of  experience 
between  countries  at  the  sessions  devoted  to  good  practice  and  during  the  two 
exercises on communication and the preparation of hospitals. 

During  2007,  the  Health  Security  Committee  received  a  renewed  mandate  and 
developed  its  rules  of  procedure  and  new  structure.  The  support  for  health  security 
committee priorities, identified in its multi-annual work plan will be open to support 
from the EU Public Health Programme. 

A  call  for  tender  was  launched  to  establish  a  framework  contract  for  scripting, 
planning,  conducting  and  evaluating  exercises  related  to  public  health  matters.  The 
five  targeted  deliverables  are  case-studies,  table-top  exercises,  command-post 
exercises, filed exercises and trainings, all with specific focus on risk management in 
the  field  of  new  and  emerging  health  threats,  such  as  chemical,  biological  and 
radionuclear threats, pandemics or communicable diseases. 

(1) 
19 

20 

EN 

Decision No 2119/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 1998 setting 
up  a  network  for  the  epidemiological  surveillance  and  control  of  communicable  diseases  in  the 
Community, OJ L 268, 3.10.1998, p. 1–7. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_threats/com/Influenza/ev_20070925_en.htm. 

7 

   EN 

 
                                                 
7.3. 

Health determinants 

The aims of the Commission “Communication on combating HIV/AIDS within the 
European  Union  and  in  the  neighbouring  countries,  2006-2009”21  were  further 
pursued  through  regular  cooperation  and  consultation  with  Member  States  and 
stakeholders, especially through the HIV/AIDS Think Tank and the HIV/AIDS Civil 
Society  Forum.  An  “EU-Russia  dialogue  on  HIV/AIDS”  conference  deepened  the 
cooperation  between  the  Commission  and  the  eastern  neighbourhood.  World  AIDS 
Day  initiatives  included  visits  to  schools  by  Commissioner  Kyprianou  and  Health 
Ministers in the respective Member States, as well as an exhibition on Commission 
activities to tackle HIV/AIDS. Council conclusions of the May 2007 meeting called 
on  the  Commission  to  continue  working  towards  HIV/AIDS  prevention  and  for 
improved  access  to  antiretroviral  medication  in  Europe.  This  post-Bremen  process 
entails cooperation between Member States, the Trio Presidency, the pharmaceutical 
industry and civil society. 

As  regards  alcohol,  2007  was  marked  by  establishing  the  implementation  structure 
for the Commission “Communication on an EU strategy to support Member States in 
reducing  alcohol-related  harm”22,  adopted  in  October 2006.  With  a  view  to 
implementing the strategy, the following measures were taken: 

–  creation of the European Alcohol and Health Forum and subsequent establishment 
of  two  Task  Forces  (“Youth-specific  aspects  of  alcohol”  and  “Marketing 
Communication”). The main purpose of the Forum is to stimulate concrete action 
aimed at reducing alcohol harm by all relevant stakeholders. By the end of 2007, 
the members of the Forum had introduced 75 commitments for action. 

The  content  and  implementation  of  these  commitments  can  be  examined  on  the 
Commission’s website23. 

–  establishment  of  the  Committee  on  National  Policy  and  Action,  composed  of 
Member  States’  representatives.  This  committee  is  concerned  mainly  with  the 
further development and coordination of alcohol policies. 

–  preparation for the establishment of the Committee on Data Collection, Indicators 
and  Definitions,  which  will  work  towards  providing  comparable  and  regularly 
updated data on alcohol consumption, drinking patterns and alcohol-related harm, 
as well as on common indicators and definitions. 

In  May 2007  the  Commission  adopted  a  White  Paper  on  a  Strategy  for  Europe  on 
Nutrition,  Overweight  and  Obesity  related  health  issues24,  based  on  analysis  of  the 
responses  to  the  Green  Paper  “Promoting  healthy  diets  and  physical  activity:  a 
European  dimension  for  the  prevention  of  overweight,  obesity  and  chronic 
diseases”25 and on an impact assessment. With a view to implementing the Strategy, 
the  Commission  established  a  High  Level  Group  on  Nutrition  and  Physical 
Activity (first meeting 29 November). In December 2007 the Council conclusions on 
putting the EU Strategy on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity related health issues 
into  operation  endorsed  the  major  points  raised  in  the  Commission’s  White  Paper, 

(1) 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 

EN 

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2005:0654:FIN:EN:PDF. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/documents/alcohol_com_625_en.pdf. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/Forum/alcohol_forum_en.htm. 
COM (2007) 279 final, 30.5.2007. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/nutrition/documents/nutrition_gp_en.pdf. 

8 

   EN 

 
                                                 
such as to continue to further develop the EU Platform, to set up a High Level Group 
on Nutrition and Physical Activity and to consider salt reduction as its first topic. The 
European Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health26 met five times 
in plenary sessions and contributed to two workshops (one on Nutrition and Physical 
Activity  at  the  workplace  and  one  on  Physical  Activity).  Platform  Members 
continued to implement more than 200 commitments for actions to halt and reverse 
current obesity trends. 

The  2005-2008  “HELP:  For  a  Life  without  Tobacco”  EU  anti-smoking  campaign 
targeting  mainly  adolescents  (15  to  18-year-olds)  and  young  adults  (18  to  30-year-
olds) was continued. During a 30-month period more than 46 000 TV spots, using 96 
national TV channels and the Internet, achieved more than 3.2 billion contacts within 
the target group of young people. In parallel, the EU “Help” website27 got more than 
4.2  million  hits  and  over  5 000  press  articles  were triggered in the  European  press. 
The  CO  measurement  campaign  launched  in  March 2006  achieved  more  than 
200 000 tests and over 600 national events were organised across the EU. Finally, the 
European  Youth  Manifesto  against  Tobacco28,  drafted  by  young  people  themselves 
on  the  basis  of  25  national  consultations,  was  promoted  in  the  Member  States 
through national activities. 
As a follow-up to the extensive public consultation29 on the basis of the Green Paper 
“Promoting  the  mental  health  of  the  population:  Towards  a  strategy  on  mental 
health for the EU”30 of October 2005, the Commission announced, at the meeting of 
the  EPSCO  Council  in  December 2007, the organisation of a high-level conference 
on  mental  health  with  the  objective  of  establishing  a  European  Pact  for  Mental 
Health. 

The Commission collaborated closely with the Portuguese Presidency in highlighting 
the  health  of  migrants  as  a  priority.  The  Public  Health  Programme  (2003-2008) 
provided  financial  support  for  the  conference  “Health  and  Migration  in  the  EU: 
Better  health  for  all  in  an  inclusive  society”,  which  was  held  in  Lisbon  in 
September 2007. The conference was addressed by Commissioner Kyprianou. 

The  Commission  adopted,  on  18 April 2007,  a  report  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Council Recommendation of 18 June 2003 on the prevention and reduction of health-
related harm associated with drug dependence31. The report concludes, in particular, 
that harm reduction interventions in prisons within the European Union are still not 
in  accordance  with  the  principle  of  equivalence  between  health  services  and  care 
(including  harm  reduction)  inside  prison  and  those  available  to  society  outside 
prison,  as  set  out  in  the  2003  Council  Recommendation  and  by  the  relevant  UN 
bodies.  On  10 December 2007  the  Commission  adopted  a  Communication  on  the 
2007 Progress Review of the implementation of the EU Action Plan on drugs (2005-
2008)32. 

(1) 
26 
27 
28 
29 
30 
31 
32 

http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/nutrition/platform/platform_en.htm. 
http://www.help-eu.com/. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/Tobacco/help/manifesto_en.htm. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/green_paper/consultation_en.htm. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/mental/green_paper/mental_gp_en.pdf. 
COM(2007) 199. 
COM(2007) 781. 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
                                                 
A number of measures were taken forward to fulfil the commitments arising from the 
EU Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010. The expert working group on 
indoor  air  quality  met  twice  in  2007  to  advise  the  Commission  on  the  EU 
programmes  and  polices  related  to  ambient  air  quality  and  on  actions  aimed  at 
reducing relevant pollutant emissions/concentrations. 

7.4. 

Risk assessment 

The  Scientific  Committees  relevant  to  the  Public  Health  Programme  (2003-2008) 
were financed as laid down in Section 2.4, Annex I, of the Work Plan for 200733. 
During 2007, the three Scientific Committees34, namely the Scientific Committee on 
Consumer  Products  (the  SCCP), 
the  Scientific  Committee  on  Health  and 
Environmental Risks (the SCHER), and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and 
Newly Identified Health Risks (the SCENIHR), adopted a wide range of opinions on 
scientific  assessment  of  health  and/or  environmental  risks.  These  related  to  certain 
hair dyes used in Europe (as part of a systematic review of possible cancer risks in 
order  to  establish  a  positive  list  of  these  substances),  nanomaterials  in  cosmetic 
products,  dangerous  substances  (certain  “existing  substances”  assessed  under 
Regulation  793/93),  indoor  air  pollutants  to  provide  the  Commission  with  a  sound 
scientific basis for developing and implementing policies on indoor air (as this is one 
of the major environmental health concerns for Europe), dental amalgams and their 
alternatives, as well as the effects of smokeless tobacco products. 

With  regard  to  electromagnetic  fields,  the  Health  and  Consumer  Protection 
Directorate-General  started  preparing  a  report  on  the  implementation  of  Council 
Recommendation 1999/519/EC on the limitation of exposure of the general public to 
electromagnetic  fields.  A  Working  Group  of government experts from  the Member 
States was established to support the preparation of the report, which is expected to 
be published in the first half of 2008. 

The  first  Annual  Nanotechnology  Safety  for  Success  Dialogue  Workshop  on 
nanotechnologies  in  consumer  products  including  food,  cosmetics  and  medical 
applications took place in Brussels in October 200735. 

(1) 
33 
34 
35 

EN 

OJ L 46, 16.2.2007, p. 27. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/committees_en.htm. 
http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/ev_20071025_en.htm. 

10 

   EN