Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-04-07-Speech-1-054"
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"en.20030407.4.1-054"2
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"Madam President, Commissioner, as if the war were not enough, another reason for increased numbers of victims has appeared at the same time.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome has so far attacked 2 416 people of all ages and has caused 89 deaths, mainly in Asia. Of course, what is important is that the authorities in China, where the epidemic first broke out, have allowed experts from the World Health Organisation, albeit somewhat belatedly, to visit the south of the country and help investigate the factors which cause the disease and how it is transmitted. The speed at which the epidemic is spreading proves how important it is for every case to be reported at once, which is why I believe that the European Commission should exhaust every means at its disposal to persuade third countries to inform all the competent agencies at once and cooperate efficiently, regardless of whether or not they have signed a cooperation agreement with the World Health Organisation.
There have been 46 cases within the European Union, affecting people who have travelled to one of the countries in which the disease is endemic, but so far there have been no reports of any cases of secondary transmission or deaths. I trust that these encouraging factors are due not just to the early warning system, which was a great help in allowing precautions to be taken, but also to the high level of health care in hospitals. Further cooperation between the Member States and the World Health Organisation will allow a continuous two-way flow of information, so that any additional measures considered necessary on the basis of new information can be taken, not that this can be considered adequate. You will understand that I refer purely to the public health aspect of the problem. I will not dwell on the economic repercussions caused by restricting air travel and tourism to high-risk areas.
Commissioner, as we have said in the past, the emergence of new threats to public health means that we urgently need to set up systems which can respond promptly, immediately and efficiently to daily dangers and challenges. There are a number of actions which are considered advisable along these lines, in tandem with existing measures. They are:
the immediate creation and operation of a European centre to control and monitor infectious diseases, similar to the CDC in the United States. It is important within the framework of this centre to operate a network of laboratories to investigate epidemics and conduct related research;
the creation of a team of experts, a task force which could take action in the event of epidemics with natural causes rather than as the result of deliberate action, as has already been set up for biological terrorism and, finally:
the provision of appropriations for technical support for the aforementioned actions.
As you know, Commissioner, the Greek Presidency is trying to strengthen the legal basis in the field of public health. I trust that this unfortunate situation will make this need clearer and convince those who disagree."@en1
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