CELEX: 51991PC0207
Language: en
Date: 1991-05-30
Title: AMENDMENT TO THE PROPOSAL FOR A DECISION OF THE COUNCIL AND THE MINISTERS FOR HEALTH OF THE MEMBER STATES MEETING WITHIN THE COUNCIL ADOPTING A PLAN OF ACTION IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE 1991-1993 ' EUROPE AGAINST AIDS ' PROGRAMME

No C 160/8                          Official Journal of the European Communities                                       20. 6. 91
                                                                  II
                                                           (Preparatory Acts)
                                               COMMISSION
           Amendment to the proposal for a Decision of the Council and the Ministers for Health of the
            Member States meeting within the Council adopting a plan of action in the framework of the
                                 1991 to 1993 'Europe against AIDS' programme (*)
                                                            (91/C 160/06)
                                                         COM(91) 207 final
                                   (Submitted by the Commission on 30 May 1991)
           (') OJ No C 13, 19. 1. 1991, p. 6.
                   ORIGINAL PROPOSAL                                                       AMENDED PROPOSAL
                       Recital 1                                                               Recital 1
Whereas the increase in the AIDS epidemic is of major                  Whereas the increase in the AIDS epidemic is of major
concern to Member States and the Community;                            concern to Member States and the Community; whereas
                                                                       this epidemic calls for an approach involving cultural,
                                                                       medical and social aspects;
                                                                                              Recital la
                                                                                                 (new)
                                                                       Whereas the effectiveness of information and educational
                                                                       measures depends on tailoring them to the various target
                                                                       groups;
                                          ( R e c i t a l s 2 to 10 u n c h a n g e d )
                                                                                              Recital 10a
                                                                                                 (new)
                                                                      Whereas the biomedical and health research programme,
                                                                      the science and technology for development programmes
                                                                      and the anti-drugs programme all embrace measures to
                                                                      combat AIDS;
                                                                                             Recital 10b
                                                                                                (new)
                                                                      Whereas the role played by the World Health Organ-
                                                                      ization is of paramount importance;
 ---pagebreak--- 20. 6.91                                  Official Journal of the European Communities                                         No C 160/9
                     ORIGINAL PROPOSAL                                                               AMENDED PROPOSAL
                          Article 1                                                                         Article 1
                                                 P a r a g r a p h s 1 and 2 u n c h a n g e d
3.     The Commission will regularly publish technical                           3.     The Commission will regularly publish technical
information on the progress of the action plan.                                  information on the progress of the action plan and
                                                                                 inform the European Parliament thereof.
                                                            Article 2 unchanged
                          Article 3                                                                         Article 3
                                                         Paragraph 1 unchanged
2.     The Council and the Ministers for Health of the                           2.     The Council and the Ministers for Health of the
Member States meeting within the Council will carry out                          Member States meeting within the Council will carry out
an evaluation of the effectiveness of the actions                                an evaluation of the effectiveness of the actions taken.
undertaken. To this end the Commission will submit a                             To this end the Commission will submit a report on the
report on the subject during the second half of 1992.                            subject during the second half of 1992, which it will
                                                                                 forward to the European Parliament.
                          ANNEX                                                                             ANNEX
                        CHAPTER 1                                                                         CHAPTER 1
                                    I n t r o d u c t i o n , p a r a g r a p h s 1 and 2 u n c h a n g e d
                        Paragraph 3                                                                      Paragraph 3
A key role at Community level is to facilitate exchanges                         A key role at Community level is to facilitate exchanges
of experience, to evaluate results and to promote new                            of experience, to evaluate results and to promote new
approaches, so that the most effective approaches can be                         approaches or those whose effectiveness has already been
promoted taking into account local needs and charac-                             proven, so that the most effective approaches can be
teristics.                                                                       promoted taking into account local needs and charac-
                                                                                 teristics.
                        Paragraph 4                                                                       Paragraph 4
Health education in schools is an essential part of health                       Health education in schools is an essential part of health
promotion, and within the limits of specific national                            promotion, and within the limits of specific national and
educational    policies    and     structures,           appropriate             regional educational policies and structures, appropriate
arrangements should be made for coordinating health-                             arrangements should be made for coordinating health-
promotion measures, so that health education can be                              promotion measures, so that health education can be
seen by children as a practical part of their lives.                             seen by children as a practical part of their lives. Infor-
                                                                                 mation should also be directed at young persons' organ-
                                                                                 izations and families.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 160/10                           Official Journal of the European Communities                                 20. 6. 91
                      ORIGINAL PROPOSAL                                                AMENDED PROPOSAL
                  Objectives, first indent                                          Objectives, first indent
    to prevent the spread of the epidemic by providing                to prevent the spread of the epidemic by providing
    information on HIV risk factors, and therefore to                 information on HIV risk factors, and therefore to
    avoid discrimination and stigmatization of HIV sero-              avoid discrimination and stigmatization of persons
    positive persons,                                                 carrying the virus (HIV seropositive persons),
                                        Objectives, second indent unchanged
                                                   Action 1 unchanged
                           Action 2                                                         Action 2
                        Paragraph 1                                                       Paragraph 1
Exchanges of information will be encouraged and                  Exchanges of information will be encouraged and
supported within the framework of health education in            supported within the framework of health education in
schools. Specific seminars for teachers from the Member          schools: no problems will be ignored (sex education,
States will provide not only an opportunity for                  sexually transmissible diseases, drug addiction, etc.).
exchanging experiences and knowledge but also lay                Seminars and other specific information schemes will be
down the foundations for broader cooperation.                    tailored to the needs identified in the various Member
                                                                 States; they will be devised for teachers and pupils and
                                                                 will provide not only an opportunity for exchanging
                                                                 experiences and knowledge but also lay down the foun-
                                                                 dations for broader cooperation.
                                                 Paragraph 2 unchanged
                                                                                         Paragraph 2a
                                                                                             (new)
                                                                 The Commission will organize a European AIDS 'Infor-
                                                                 mation and Prevention Day', in which the Member
                                                                 States' television networks will cooperate, and with the
                                                                 participation of the other mass media.
                           Action 3                                                         Action 3
                        Paragraph 1                                                      Paragraph 1
Repeated monitoring of public opinion and attitudes is           Repeated monitoring of public opinion and attitudes is
necessary in order to assess the effectiveness of                necessary in order to assess the effectiveness of
prevention efforts.                                              prevention efforts; in this connection, the European code
                                                                 against AIDS will be particularly useful.
                                                 Paragraph 2 unchanged
 ---pagebreak--- 20. 6. 91                             Official Journal of the European Communities                                           N o C 160/11
                   ORIGINAL PROPOSAL                                                                  AMENDED PROPOSAL
                      CHAPTER 2                                                                           CHAPTER 2
                                I n t r o d u c t i o n , paragraphs 1 and 2 unchanged
                                           O b j e c t i v e s , first i n d e n t u n c h a n g e d
               Objectives, second indent                                                          Objectives, second indent
    to make counselling       more      accessible           to   all             to make counselling and health             advice  more
    HIV-positive people,                                                          accessible to all HIV-positive people,
                                                                                                            Indent 2a
                                                                                                               (new)
                                                                                  to respect the private life and confidentiality of all
                                                                                  individuals, whether AIDS sufferers and HIV sero-
                                                                                  positive persons or those who undergo an AIDS test,
                                                                                                            Indent 2b
                                                                                                               (new)
                                                                                  to ensure the complete confidentiality of AIDS test
                                                                                  findings,
                               O b j e c t i v e s , t h i r d and f o u r t h i n d e n t s u n c h a n g e d
                                                                                                            Indent 4a
                                                                                                               (new)
                                                                                  to prevent all social discrimination, i.e. guarantee the
                                                                                  right to work, housing and insurance cover,
                                                                                                            Indent 4b
                                                                                                               (new)
                                                                                  to prevent any discrimination against HIV-positive
                                                                                  children, by guaranteeing their right to receive
                                                                                  compulsory education, to live near their parents and
                                                                                  to receive child welfare services.
 ---pagebreak--- N o C 160/12                        Official Journal of the European Communities                                          20. 6. 91
                    ORIGINAL PROPOSAL                                                     AMENDED PROPOSAL
                         Action 4                                                              Action 4
                                          P a r a g r a p h s 1 and 2 u n c h a n g e d
                                                                                            Paragraph 2a
                                                                                                (new)
                                                                    The Commission will make provision, in conjunction
                                                                    with the anti-drugs programme, for the establishment of
                                                                    a prevention programme directed at drug users;
                                                                    provision of throwaway needles.
                      Paragraph 3                                                            Paragraph 3
This could      lead to the establishment               of a        A Community-wide directory of helplines will be estab-
Community-wide directory of helplines. This should be               lished. This should be done in close coordination with
done in close coordination with drug helplines, since               drug helplines, since HIV-seropositive and AIDS symp-
HIV-seropositive and AIDS symptomatic drug users may                tomatic drug users may have recourse to both systems.
have recourse to both systems.                                      This directory should be advertised free of charge at
                                                                    stations and airports and in the press and electronic
                                                                    media.
                                        Paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 unchanged
                                                   Action 5 unchanged
                                                                                              Action 5a
                                                                                                (new)
                                                                    Action 5a: Reduction of HIV transmission through sexual inter-
                                                                                course
                                                                    As individuals of both sexes may be infected as a result
                                                                    of sexual intercourse, the use of condoms is the only
                                                                    effective preventive measure. Measures must be taken to
                                                                    complete the harmonization of quality standards for
                                                                    condoms at Community level.
                                                                    Every packet of condoms should contain an information
                                                                    sheet incorporating a public health message and
                                                                    instructions for use.
                                                   Action 6 unchanged
                                                                                        Action 6a unchanged
                                                                                                (new)
                                                                    Action 6a: Rapid individual detection of HIV seropositiveness
                                                                    'Instant' HIV self-testing kits may be made available to
                                                                    the public. It will be essential to coordinate arrangements
                                                                    for access to such kits at Community level.
 ---pagebreak--- 20. 6. 91                            Official Journal of the European Communities                                No C 160/13
                    ORIGINAL PROPOSAL                                                     AMENDED PROPOSAL
                       CHAPTER 3                                                             CHAPTER 3
                                     I n t r o d u c t i o n and objectives unchanged
                         Action 7                                                              Action 7
                                                    Paragraph 1 unchanged
                       Paragraph 2                                                           Paragraph 2
In order to improve the quality of the data, support will            In order to improve the quality of the data, support will
be given to national monitoring systems; to the accessi-             be given to national and regional monitoring systems; to
bility of the Paris Centre's data base; and to improving             the accessibility of the Paris Centre's data base, and to
epidemiological information on the disease.                          improving epidemiological information on the disease.
                                                    Paragraph 3 unchanged
                                                        Action 8 unchanged
                                                      Chapter 4 unchanged