Activities of Tsvetelina PENKOVA related to 2021/2100(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on cohesion policy as an instrument to reduce healthcare disparities and enhance cross-border health cooperation
Amendments (23)
Amendment 2 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 2 a (new)
Citation 2 a (new)
— having regard to the Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 June 2021 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, the Just Transition Fund and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund and financial rules for those and for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy ([RR1] Common Provisions Regulation),
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 4
Citation 4
— having regard to Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’' rights in cross- border healthcare2 and especially the Art. 168 thereof, _________________ 2 OJ L 88, 4.4.2011, p. 45.
Amendment 15 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the lack of basic infrastructure in certain less-developed regionsNUTS level 2 regions with GDP per capita lower that 75% of the EU- 27 average, which hampers equity ofal access to healthcare, is the main reason health infrastructure remains a priority for many national governments;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the standards of healthcare provision in the EU are not harmonised, asstill a prerogative of the Member States and significant differences exist between regions, whereby less-developed which create inequalities; whereby NUTS level 2 regions, whichith GDP per capita lower that 75% of the EU-27 average are not able to devote anything close to the amount of resources on healthcare per capita as their more developed counterparts, may face problems in this respect;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas previous analyses have shown that strengthening cohesion policy is necessary in order to reduce disparities between the standards of healthcare provision in the EU;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas in the last two multiannual financial frameworks (MFFs), health investments from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) tended to be concentrated in the less-developed Member States and regionsNUTS level 2 regions with GDP per capita lower that 75% of the EU-27 average, usually focusing on health service modernisation, while the European Social Fund (ESF) investments addressinged access to healthcare and tended to be concentrated in the countries facing particular challenges in terms of access to affordable, sustainable and high-quality services;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights that certain less- developed regionsNUTS level 2 regions with GDP per capita lower that 75%of the EU-27 average are a long way from uniformly matching the standards of healthcare provisions available in more developed parts of the EU, and that convergence in this sense is unlikely to be achieved without help at EU level, particularly through its cohesion policy;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that, while evaluating the overall envelope of funded structural projects and benchmarks in the context of health, it is also necessary to review the subsequent health outcomes of individual projects based on the impact on the beneficiaries, to enable their effectiveness and results to be tracked, in order to gauge the extent to which a given project has been successful;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Emphasises that EU citizens in rural areas and the outermost regions often encounter barriers to equality of access to healthcare that limit their ability to obtain the care they need, especially in the form of basic health infrastructure; stresses that, in order for them to acquire sufficient access, as well as the appropriate healthcare which they need, quality services mustshould be available and obtainable in a timely manner;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Stresses the importance of using EU cohesion programmes to improve the deployment of digital solutions for collecting and processing of data for mapping the needs of citizens and providing technical assistance to public administrations, insurance companies and other healthcare operators dealing with cross-border cooperation issues;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Points out that the lack of a working cross-border scheme for exchange of vital data for EU cross- border patients further slowed down the common epidemiologic response to theCOVID-19 pandemic and created confusion, mistrust and hampered regional cooperation between the most affected regions;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11c. Stresses the importance of national and EU authorities to provide for a more efficient involvement of a wide range of healthcare institutions, such as hospitals, national or regional administrative systems and insurance companies, as they form an interconnected framework which delivers the healthcare service to EU citizens;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for boldmore ambitious cohesion policy measures, in accordance with the legal provisions in force in the EU, in order to attempt to mitigate the lack of healthcare workers in rural areas, and aimed at motivating them to commence or resume practice there;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Emphasises on the need to set up a working cross-border cooperation network between the Member States and their regions, which could react to other health crises or future pandemics;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for the use of cohesion policy funds to improve the working conditionsenvironment of the health workforce in order to facilitate retention strategies for thcomplement national and regional policies aimed at providing adequate healthcare work force in less-developed regionsthroughout the EU;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Stresses that cross-border healthcare improvements can benefit patients by enabling equitable access to health services and infrastructure in other Member States, or their bordering regions, including diagnosis and clinical trials, based on the principle of ‘easiest, closest, best and fastest’ access12 ; _________________ 12 https://eurohealthnet.eu/publication/joint- statement-use-next-european-and- structural-investment-funds-strategic- investments
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Highlights the importance of the recent cohesion policy measures to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, namely the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative (CRII), the Coronavirus Response Investment Initiative Plus (CRII+) and the Recovery Assistance for Cohesion and the Territories of Europe (REACT-EU); further emphasizes that similar measures were taken on board in Regulation (EU) 2021/1060;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Highlights that some form of cross-border solidarity through Interreg programmes already exists through initial provision of medical equipment, exchanges of medical staff, transfer of patients between hospital facilities and testing and vaccinating centres;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 b (new)
Paragraph 18 b (new)
18b. Is of the opinion that cross-border health cooperation can build on an intelligent use of existing cohesion policy projects such as INTERSYC, Dolj-Vratsa, TRISAN, or Cerdanya, in order to make more cross-border projects come through;
Amendment 161 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Believes that centres of excellence could stimulate and increase cross-border contracting to an even greater extent, and that, as a result, such centres could be of great importance inand of benefit in improving the overall health conditions, thus increasing the life expectancy of EU citizens;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Calls on the Member States and on regional and local authorities to make use of the full extent of the flexibility offered by the cohesions policy programmes, defined in Regulation (EU) 2021/1060, as well as of Interreg programmes, to address the current COVID-19 crisis;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and, the Commission and national parliaments.