Public health: action plan to combat cancer 1996-2000

The Council took stock of progress, in the context of the codecision procedure with Parliament, on the proposals for decisions on the adoption of action plans or programmes of action in the fields of: - combating cancer; - health promotion, information, education and training; - the prevention of Aids and certain other communicable diseases. Specifically, the Council was briefed on the informal talks that had taken place between Parliament, the Council and the Commission with a view to the meeting of the Conciliation Committee on the matter scheduled for 19 December 1995. It will be recalled that the Council adopted its common positions on the proposals in question at its meeting on 2 June 1995. In the meantime, Parliament approved a number of amendments at second reading at the end of October. Some of those amendments concern the financial package for the programmes (for the ‘cancer’ plan, Parliament is proposing ECU 64 million instead of the ECU 59 million envisaged in the Council’s common position; for the ‘health promotion’ programme, Parliament is proposing ECU 35 million instead of ECU 30 million). Other Parliament amendments relate to the specifics of the programmes and to a number of general basic provisions.