Whilst the negotiations on the EU-US ‘TTIP’ trade deal give the health community plenty of cause for concern, one positive aspect is that they’re getting lots of attention from Members of the European Parliament. Rightly so.
Currently 14 Parliament committees are preparing their Opinions to send to the International Trade committee for a vote in May expressing the Parliament’s priorities for the deal. Top priority must be to ensure that the deal is a good one for ensuring a high level of public health and retaining the right to regulate – in perpetuity – to protect and improve health. As the TTIP is a ‘living agreement’, the health community will have to stay vigilant even after the initial deal is struck: further dealings will continue in the longer term, on tricky topics with huge health impacts like pharmaceuticals and agriculture, when today’s spotlight has faded.
The MEPs have plenty of time to scrutinise TTIP because Juncker’s Commission is being painfully timid in bringing forward any initiatives. Juncker’s First Vice-President Frans Timmermans is currently preparing a ‘Better Regulation’ package for late April with a focus on cutting red tape. Health advocates, consumer groups, trade unions and green groups fear that translates only to ‘less regulation in the public interest’ or even de-regulation to reduce annoyances for businesses by reducing protection for everyone. It certainly feels that way so far.
Commissioner Andriukaitis is finalising his priorities for health and has been calling for a ‘Union for Health’. But we already have one: the internal market. Of course, national governments will not cede decision-making over national health services. But the EU certainly has the mandate and is well equipped to protect and improve the health of all 500 million of us inside the single market whilst helping it to run smoother, in a way that complements national health policies in every country. EU rules save countless lives in every Member State. One man’s red tape is another’s life-saving measure – just look at the Tobacco Products Directive, the EU’s rules on clinical trials, food safety, chemicals, medicines and medical devices, pollution standards, road safety. The list goes on. On these issues Europe can – and must – do things that one country cannot achieve alone.
But the list of areas where Europe is failing in its duty to protect health is growing ever longer. The wasted opportunities are racking up, for example on alcohol taxation, on labelling of unhealthy food and drinks, on the huge threat of anti-microbial resistance, on health workforce ‘brain drain’ between countries, on endocrine disrupting chemicals, and generally overlooking the role of health in the EU’s macro-economic recommendations and the health inequalities made worse by the crisis. As this month’s newsletter makes clear, the EU needs to act on each of these, but for the moment a navel gazing European Commission is missing every cue.
EPHA Secretary-General
EPHA 6th Annual Conference, 2-3 September, Brussels
—–
OTHER ARTICLES published on our website over the last weeks
——
☐ Open Letter to MEPs] [EU Alcohol Strategy Resolution should put public health first
☐ EU Governments Call for a New EU Alcohol Strategy
☐ UK and Ireland pave the way for the adoption of Plain Packaging in the EU
—–
Events
——
☐ Launch of the MEP Friends of the Liver Interest Group – 27 May
☐ Mobility of Health Professionals in the EU – Ethical Recruitment and Policy Coherence (5 May)
