Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-12-11-Speech-1-102"
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"en.20001211.6.1-102"2
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"Madam President, subsequent to the Trakatellis report on the extension of the existing European public health programmes, I wish to express my concern at the direction in which European policy in the field of public health is developing.
We can read the basic principles for European public health policy in Article 152 of the Treaty of Amsterdam: “Community action, which shall complement national policies. (…). Such action shall cover the fight against the major health scourges.” I would also like to refer to the principle of subsidiarity, which stipulates that non cross-border tasks should be performed by the Member States. As I see it though, efforts have been made recently to raise the profile of public health as a relevant and fundamental topic for Europe, although this development is at odds with the Treaty.
European public health policy only comes into play if there is a cross-border issue involved or if Member States cannot implement a particular task in isolation. Relevant examples include legislation concerning cross-border trade in human organs, tissue and blood, and the programme for orphan drugs. Since the Member States need each other where the aforementioned examples are concerned, I am in favour of a common European approach in such cases. There is no need for this when it comes to tackling problems such as cancer, AIDS and drug addiction. A European approach does not lend a great deal of added value over and above the efforts undertaken by the Member States. Certainly, when it comes to the provision of information and raising awareness, action at national level is to be preferred over that at European level.
The European Union could do more in the way of raising health standards for the candidate countries, where even basic health care is lacking. In addition, relatively straightforward illnesses cannot be treated owing to lack of funds and other resources.
I am also perturbed by the fact that the various healthcare systems of the European Union will come up for discussion in new proposals soon to be on the agenda. It is possible that national systems will be called into question in the process, or even adversely affected in the future, which I think would be an undesirable development.
To summarise, Madam President, I must say the developments in the public health sector in the European Union go too far for my liking. Public health is national policy and should stay that way. I therefore do not support public health programmes that can be used as a stepping stone to erode national policy, when the programmes currently on the table scarcely provide anything over and above what the Member States themselves can offer."@en1
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