The purpose of this communication is to present the conclusions of the evaluation of the implementation of the first three years of the Public Health Programme (2003-2008). The evaluation was carried out by independent experts from a consultancy company, and the key findings are presented in the report.

The overall assessment of the Public Health Programme (2003-2008) is positive. However, eighteen recommendations were issued in three areas: programme, management and projects.

Programme: the evaluation regarded the programme priorities as being complicated. Even if these priorities may have been entirely justified, they might not have reflected the actual needs of stakeholders and/or EU citizens. The Commission states that several initiatives have been launched to streamline and prioritise the Public Health Programme activities, such as mapping of the Public Health Programme (2003-2008) and multi-annual planning. These will help to establish priorities for each year of new Health Programme, i.e. the second programme of Community action in the field of health (2008-2013, identify stakeholders’ needs and define specific objectives. This will give the new Health Programme a sharper definition by reducing the number of activities and making priorities more clear-cut. In addition, a broader and innovative consultation process will be pursued in an effort to define the priorities of the annual work plans, address the real needs of EU citizens and increase stakeholders’ awareness of the programme. Several groups of stakeholders will be consulted to identify what for them are the relevant areas of activity.

Management: the evaluation considered that efforts should be made to develop new funding methods in order to encourage more innovative proposals. The Commission states that a wider variety of financing mechanisms are offered in the second Health Programme (2008-2013). These include:

co-financing an action intended to achieve a programme objective (up to 60% of project costs); co-financing the operational costs of a non-governmental organisation or a specialised network (up to 60% of eligible costs); joint financing a public body or non-governmental organisation by the Community and one or more Member States (up to 50% of costs); joint actions with other Community programmes.

As regards project results, these will be promoted through channels tailored to the different kinds of audience, and further attention will be paid to project sustainability. At the end of project implementation, an assessment should be made of the real output produced by the beneficiary. The aim is to check to what extent the final reports reflect expectations at the beginning of the project. Programme activities will be communicated more widely than in the past. For this purpose, a comprehensive strategy has been developed. New initiatives have been promoted and others which are already in place have been expanded, such as the use of e-newsletters and the web, Info Days, further development of the national focal points network, and new health-related publications. The Commission will also increase cooperation with the WHO and OECD through direct grant agreements.

Projects: it was recommended that the application procedure for submitting projects under the call for proposals be simplified, and that projects should monitor their progress against the programme priorities. The Commission notes that the application procedure for submitting projects has already been simplified for the 2007 Call for Proposals and will be further pursued under the second Health Programme (2008-2013). Furthermore, evaluation criteria in use for the call for proposals were revised in 2007. The award criteria were revised with the aim of making the evaluation process more transparent and providing more guidance to applicants on expectations from projects. Beneficiaries will be invited to describe how their proposals will improve the health of European citizens, as measured by appropriate indicators, including the Healthy Life Years indicator, and how they will reduce health inequalities in and between EU Member States and regions.

COM(2008)0484
EUR-Lex

The purpose of this Communication is to report on the implementation of the Public Health Programme for 2007.

The report recalls that 2007 was a year of major policy achievements for the Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General, as it was marked by the adoption of the Second Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health (2008-13) and of the White Paper “Together for Health, a Strategic Approach for the EU 2008-2013” and the White Paper “Together for Health, a Strategic Approach for the EU 2008-2013” which brings together in a coherent and comprehensive framework a range of EU policies that impact on health.

Budget aspects : to recall, the programme’s overall budget for 2003-2008 was EUR 354 million. The budget for 2007 was estimated to be EUR 41 870 000 .

A single call for proposals, covering all work plan activities for 2007 was published in February 2007 and closed in May of the same year. The indicative amount for the call for proposals was EUR 33 888 000. A total of 222 applications were submitted . As a result of the evaluation process, a list of 63 projects (23 for Health Information, 11 for Health Threats and 29 for Health Determinants) and a reserve list of 11 projects (8 for Health Information and 3 for Health Determinants) were drawn up, respectively totalling EUR 37 575 948 and EUR 4 523 107.

The main activities for 2007 were:

Health Information

work began on a report concerning a Council Recommendation on cancer screening; work began on a Commission Communication concerning European action in the field of rare diseases and a Conference on rare diseases was held in Lisbon under the Portuguese Presidency.

Health Threats

in 2007, the most important disease incidents recorded by the EU’s Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) concerned: Chikungunya fever in Italy, haemorrhagic fever caused by the Ebola Virus in Uganda, an HIV vaccine adverse event in Vietnam, the multidrug resistant tuberculosis incident affect of a US citizen travelling from the US to the EU, a Salmonella Tennessee event and a legionellosis event involving EU tourists in Thailand; the EWTS informatics tool was transferred to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC); the Health and Consumer Protection DG actively participated in as assessment of seven EU Member States’ “preparedness plan”. They were Malta, Finland, Cyprus, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Estonia and Romania. The Commission noted that all of these Member States had made significant progress in improving their preparedness plans; a fourth joint EC-ECDEC-WHO Workshop on Pandemic Influenza Preparedness was held in Luxembourg, which provided a good opportunity for experts to discuss efforts in the fight against a potential outbreak; a call for tender was launched in order to establish a framework contract fro scripting, planning, conducting and evaluating exercises related to public health matters.

Health determinants

efforts to work with the Member States to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS was continued through tools such as the HIV/AIDS think-tank and Civil Society Forum; in 2007 the Commission began implementing the EU’s strategy to support Member States in reducing alcohol related harm; in May 2007 the Commission adopted a White Paper on a Strategy for Europe on Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity related issues and with a view to implement the Strategy the Commission established a High Level Group on Nutrition and Physical Activity; regarding tobacco, the Commission continued work on the 2005-2008 programme: “HELP: For a Life without Tobacco”, an EU anti-smoking campaign targeting mostly adolescents and young adults. Over a 30 month period more than 46 000 TV spots, using 96 national TV channels and the Internet, achieved more than 3.2 billion contacts within the target group of young people. In parallel, the EU “HELP” website triggered more than 4.2 million hits and over 5 000 press articles; the Commission did follow-up work based on the results of the Green Paper on “Promoting the mental health of the population: towards a strategy on mental health for the EU”; the Commission also adopted a report on the implementation of a Council Recommendation on the prevention and reduction of health-related harm associated with drug dependence.

Risk assessment:

in 2007 three separate Scientific Risk Committees met. They concerned: Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks; Environmental Risk; and Consumer Products. The three Committees prepared studies on: hair dyes; Nanomaterials in cosmetic products; dangerous substances; indoor air pollutants; dental amalgams and their alternatives and the effects of smokeless tobacco products; the Commission started work on a report concerning the implementation of a Council recommendation on the limitation of exposure of the general public to electromagnetic fields; and a first Annual Nanotechnology Safety for Success was held concerning nanotechnologies in consumer products including food, cosmetics and medical applications.

COM(2008)0482
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This report aims to inform the European Parliament and the Council of the implementation of the Public Health Programme in 2006.

It should be recalled that the programme’s overall budget for 2003-2008 was EUR 354 million. The indicative amount for the call for proposals was EUR 43 018 510. A total of 281 applications were submitted for the three strands (121 for Health Information, 18 for Health Threats and 142 for Health Determinants). A certain number of actions were initiated either by launching calls for tenders or by using the existing framework contracts. Lastly, cooperation with international organisations was further developed. Seven

direct grant agreements were signed with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and two with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The main activities in 2006 are as follows:

Health information

publication of a report on “ Alcohol in Europe: A public health perspective”; the First European Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion ; six Eurobarometer studies on different subjects (medical errors, AIDS prevention, food and health, tobacco attitudes, mental wellbeing, and health prevention); an e-Health High-Level Conference; the Public Health Portal of the European Union providing a single point of access to health-related information at European, national and regional levels; the “Europe for health and wealth ” project was co-funded as part of the Presidency theme of Health in All Policies; a Congress “Better statistics for Better Health for pregnant women and their babies ” in Porto; the European Primary Immunodeficiencies Consensus Conference, took place in Frankfurt-am-Main

Health threats

the beginning of the year was marked by four fatal human cases of avian influenza in Turkey. This prompted a swift reaction by the Commission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and WHO, and all the response mechanisms set up in advance were activated, including sending a joint field team to assist the Turkish authorities. A new Web portal was set up to inform decision makers in Member States (HEDIS); measures to control a number of disease incidents notified by the EU’s Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) set up by Decision No 2119/98/EC 22 , were coordinated by the Health and Consumer Protection DG; the Commission adopted a communication on prolonging the mandate of the Health Security Committee (HSC), which deals with deliberate releases of biological, chemical and radionuclear agents with the aim of causing harm;

in order to further improve the generic preparedness of the Commission and Member States, several steps were taken to implement the lessons learnt from two simulation exercises organised in 2005.

Health determinants

following the “Communication on combating HIV/AIDS within the European Union and in the neighbouring countries, 2006-2009”, a high-level roundtable on safer sex for young people was set up; the Commission adopted a “Communication on an EU strategy to support Member States in reducing alcohol related harm ” in October; the Commission continued stakeholder consultations and the impact assessment on a White Paper on Nutrition and Physical Activity ; the 2005-2008 “HELP: For a Life without Tobacco ” EU anti-smoking campaign targeting mainly adolescents (15 to 18 year olds) and young adults (18 to 30 year olds) was continued. The campaign addressed the three main themes of tobacco control (prevention, giving up, and the dangers of passive smoking) through a range of media including television and the Internet, the press and the organisation of public relations events; extensive public consultation on the Green paper “Promoting the mental health of the population: Towards a strategy on mental health for the EU” was held; the Commission cooperated with Member States and with international organisations, particularly with the WHO and its Commission on Social Determinants of Health, to promote understanding and policy development for action in the area of social determinants and health inequalities; preparations were started on a report on drugs treatment and a proposal for a Council Recommendation on drugs and prisons; a number of measures were taken under the EU Environment and Health Action Plan 2004-2010. An expert working group on indoor air quality was set up in October 2006.

Risk assessment

the three Scientific Committees adopted a wide range of opinions covering such matters as certain hair dyes (as part of a review of possible cancer risks), the safety of sun beds, substances like organotins, the possible effects of substances released by air freshener products, the effect of electromagnetic fields on human health and the appropriateness of existing methodologies for assessing the risks of nanomaterials; to take account of new scientific data on electromagnetic fields , the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) was asked to undertake a comprehensive review of the opinion of the Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Eco-toxicity and the Environment (SCTEE) on the possible health effects of electromagnetic fields, radio frequency fields and microwave radiation; the SCENIHR adopted an opinion on the appropriateness of existing methodologies to assess the potential risks of nanomaterials .

COM(2008)0198
EUR-Lex

PURPOSE: to present a report on the implementation of the Public Health Programme in 2005.

CONTENT: this report has been prepared in order to inform both the European Parliament and the Council on the implementation of the Public Health Programme in 2005. As regards the budget, of the programme’s global budget for 2003-2008 of €354 million, the total appropriation of operational and administrative credits for 2005 amounted to €61.5 million. €50 million was allocated to financing projects under the 2005 call for proposals. A further €1.9 million was committed to calls for tender and €3.6 million to direct grant agreements.

The report, in summary, makes the following findings:

- Health and Consumer Protection Strategy : This strategy was adopted in April 2005 and established a joint programme for Health and Consumer protection.

- Mid-term evaluation of the Public Health programme : An external mid-term evaluation of the Public Health programme was launched covering the first three years of its implementation, - 2003-2005. The results of the evaluation will be used to provide feedback for future Commission initiatives.

- Stakeholder consultations : A second “Open Forum on Health challenges and future strategies” took place in 2005. The High Level Group on health services and medical care held four meetings.

- Activities related to legislation : Two Directives were adopted to implement Directive 2002/98/EC. These help guarantee a high level of human health protection regarding blood and blood components.

- Co-operation with international organisations : Direct grant agreements were negotiated for the first time with the World Health Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

- Executive Agency for Public Health Programme : In January 2005, the Commission created an Executive Agency for the Public Health Programme. The Agency aims to provide technical, scientific and administrative assistance to help implement the programme’s objectives.

- European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control : The ECDC became operational in 2005. It provides a structured and systematic approach to the control of communicable diseases and other serious health threats affecting the EU.

- Call for proposals : A single call for proposal, covering the activities of the 2005 work plan, was launched in January. 242 proposals were submitted of which 55 were considered suitable for funding and 18 projects were placed on a reserve list. 169 projects were rejected.

- Calls for tender : Four contracts were signed with Eurobarometer for surveys on EU citizens’ attitudes toward tobacco, medical errors, aids prevention and health/food. A further service contract signed in 2005 which sets up a quality assurance scheme for the diagnosis of very high pathogen threats. The purpose of the contract is to organise an outcome orientated external quality assurance exercise for four high threat bacterial pathogens.

- Health information : Work continued in 2005 on the establishment of a comprehensive European health and environment information system. Public health monitoring needs and public concerns on electromagnetic fields was also examined.

- Health threats : A new strategy was developed on “Generic preparedness Planning” and on an “Influenza pandemic preparedness”. Two exercises were organised and tested to assess the reaction capacity of the EU and the Member States in cases of a bio-terrorist attach and an influenza pandemic.

- Health determinants : The main aims in 2005 were to promote and stimulate countries’ efforts; and to provide input into the assessment and preparation of Community policies, strategies and measures. The work plan therefore prioritised actions linked to nutrition and alcohol, tobacco and drugs, AIDS; health inequalities and wider socio-economic determinants; as well as in areas not fully covered previously such as genetic determinants and physical activity. Approaches to integrate a number environmental and socio-economic considerations and to target specific groups, in particular young people, were also prioritised. Nutrition and physical activity actions included a European weight disorder initiative, a campaign for the improvement of lifestyle related workplace health promotion, support for a network on physical activity and ageing, and a European schools network addressing childhood obesity. Important new activities on alcohol were supported in view of the development of the forthcoming Commission Communication on alcohol and health. These included activities covering drink driving in young people focussing on the role of peer education and covering actions such as health warnings and labelling of alcoholic drinks and server training. A secretariat for the European Commission Mental Health Working Party has been established to assist work taking forward the Green paper on Mental Health. Community action programmes on depression, and child and adolescent mental health are also being set up. Several actions addressed drug prevention, harm reduction and access to drug treatment. European Partners in Action on AIDS aims to strengthen European non-governmental organisations and increase their capacities for concerted actions in the fight against HIV. Work on public health genetics is being taken forward through networking and information exchange.

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Decision 2002/1786
OJ L 271 09.10.2002, p. 0001-0012

T5-0351/2002
OJ C 271 12.11.2003, p. 0195-0273 E

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Debate in Parliament

3627/2002

3627/2002

A5-0234/2002

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COM(2002)0029
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T5-0681/2001
OJ C 177 25.07.2002, p. 0084-0166 E

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Debate in Parliament

A5-0420/2001

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SEC(2001)1336

10222/1/2001
OJ C 307 31.10.2001, p. 0027

10222/1/2001

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OJ C 240 28.08.2001, p. 0168 E
COM(2001)0302

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COM(2001)0302

T5-0175/2001
OJ C 021 24.01.2002, p. 0129-0161 E

T5-0175/2001

Debate in Parliament

A5-0104/2001

A5-0104/2001

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CDR0236/2000
OJ C 144 16.05.2001, p. 0043

CES1443/2000
OJ C 116 20.04.2001, p. 0075

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OJ C 337 28.11.2000, p. 0122 E
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