Lydia Mutsch presented the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency before the ENVI Committee of the European Parliament
The Minister of Health Lydia Mutsch at the European Parliament's ENVI committee
The Minister for Health, Lydia Mutsch, presented the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency before the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) of the European Parliament in the fields of public health, medicinal products and medical devices as well as food safety.
At the outset of her presentation, Lydia Mutsch stated that, during the Luxembourg Presidency, health issues will based on patients and innovation and that the discussions will be patient-centered.
As to public health, the Minister firstly referred to personalised medicine, regarding which a High-level Conference was held on 8 July 2015 and which made it possible to "provide certain answers to the numerous challenges that hinder the integration of innovative treatments into clinical practice". Lydia Mutsch believes that personalised medicine has "a significant potential to improve the health of numerous patients by means of focused treatments which significantly reduce undesirable side effects". She highlighted the importance of "ensuring equitable access to this category of innovative treatments".
Another subject in this field is dementia, an "increasingly widespread illness" that "necessitates a multisectoral response", explained Lydia Mutsch.
The Luxembourg Presidency will also focus on the implementation of the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive, two years after the deadline for transposition, on the basis of the Commission's implementation report, affirmed the Minister.
Another priority of the Presidency will be reducing the damage stemming from alcohol abuse. A new EU strategy on Alcohol is needed, to replace the one which expired in 2013, stressed the Minister. She recalled that the Ministers for Health had launched a "clear and quasi-unanimous call" at their informal meeting in Riga in April and at the EPSCO Council of 19 June and that draft conclusions had been discussed at the first meeting of the Council's working group on 6 July. These conclusions urge the Member States to continue their national efforts and call on the Commission to develop a strategy specifically dedicated to alcohol for 2016, stated the Minister. "We are counting on Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis i to act within the Commission to ensure that this call is followed by concrete actions", affirmed Lydia Mutsch.
The Minister referred to the Ebola epidemic. "Recent developments in Liberia have shown us that Ebola is not under control and that we run the risk of facing a new epidemic", stated Lydia Mutsch. The Presidency will organise a ministerial conference which will focus on the health aspect.
As to modernisation of the rules relating to medical devices, the Minister estimated that this involves an "extremely important matter to which we will devote our utmost attention". The Presidency undertakes to finalise the work promptly, specifically on the recitals, and to clarify any technical inconsistencies, affirmed the Minister. The adoption of a general approach is anticipated for early October and the trilogue meetings with the European Parliament can commence being held thereafter, advised Lydia Mutsch. She assured that the contacts with the Parliament had been "reassuring": "I understood that we are pursuing the same objective: a solid regulatory framework that is transparent and clear and which allows citizens to access products that are safe and of high quality while promoting an innovative European market".
The subject is important to the Members of the EP who called upon the Presidency during the discussions to finalise the matter promptly. The Minister gave assurances that this is one of the top items of the Presidency and that she wishes to finalise the works prior to the Council of 8 December. Asked about product scrutiny, she affirmed that there are "divergent but not contradictory positions" at the Council and that a compromise had been agreed upon which was "in the interests of the patient".
In the field of food safety, the Minister made reference to the proposals of the European Commission on the use of cloning techniques in animal reproduction. She affirmed that the Presidency will submit for the review by the Council "as soon as possible" the amendments that the European Parliament should vote on in September, adding that they constitute an "important asset" for moving the files forward.
As to authorisation for GMOs, she felt that the option provided for the Member States by the draft text to limit or prohibit the use of genetically modified foods for animals on their territory is "an important signal" from the Commission. She stated that the Presidency has taken note of the conclusions adopted at the end of the AGRI Council held on 13 July 2015 as regards the need for an impact assessment and the clarification of certain legal aspects. Most of the MEPs took the view that the European Parliament will oppose the adoption of this text, calling for a "democratisation" of the process, as had been promised by Jean-Claude Juncker i, the President of the Commission.
The Minister also stated that the Presidency is pleased with the voting results of the ENVI Committee on authorisation for novel foods, whereby the Committee recognized the advantages of the solution proposed by the Council, as a means of improving the procedure for authorising such foods. She stated that the dossier might be agreed on at the first reading.
On the subject of the proposal regarding the official control of foodstuffs, the Minister lauded the "remarkable advances" of the Latvian Presidency, which will allow the Luxembourg Presidency to concentrate on the several unresolved points, including the role and the responsibilities of the official veterinarian, and to begin discussions with the European Parliament, as of September if possible.
As regards the labelling of foodstuffs, the Minister announced that the Informal meeting of Ministers of Health on 24 and 25 September will focus on the issue of the presence of fatty acids in certain foods pursuant to a report from the Commission.
During the discussion that followed the presentation by Lydia Mutsch, the majority of the MEPs stressed the need to combat antimicrobial resistances caused for some by intensive agriculture, and to develop new antibiotics. Several called for a prohibition of antibiotics in animal husbandry in last recourse. In this context, they underlined the importance of the regulatory proposal concerning veterinary medicinal products, another priority of the Presidency.
Lydia Mutsch affirmed that this is a "serious problem", which is timely for "moving forward with" and that it is necessary to reinforce the cooperation between the sectors of human safety and animal safety.
Several MEPs also questioned the Minister as to her position on glyphosate, a widely used pesticide that is suspected of being carcinogenic. The Minister responded that she was awaiting a report from the Word Health Organisation and a reevaluation by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Another concern brought up by several MEPs was that of endocrine disrupters. Lydia Mutsch responded that it is "urgent" for the Commission to proceed with defining criteria, which had been initially anticipated for December 2014.
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