Public health: Community action programme 2003-2008

The committee adopted the report by Antonios TRAKATELLIS (EPP-ED, GR) amending the proposal under the codecision procedure (1st reading). In particular, the committee called for the funding for implementing the action programme to be EUR 500 million instead of the EUR 300 million proposed by the Commission, arguing that 300 million was clearly insufficient to meet the ambitious objectives set out in the programme. It also felt the budget should be increased because part of it had already been committed to extending existing programmes. The committee also wanted the Community's joint funding of expenditure to be increased from 50% to 80%, and even 100% in the case of certain projects in the accession countries. Although the action programme was welcomed as such, the committee felt that a major weakness was the absence of a coordinating centre. It therefore proposed that a European Health Coordination and Monitoring Centre (EHCMC) be set up to collect, monitor and evaluate data and to coordinate measures and projects under the programme. The committee stressed that the applicant states should be closely involved in the planning and implementation of the programme. It also adopted a large number of amendments aimed at beefing up the programme, introducing many new objectives such as: special support for measures in such areas as cardiovascular disease, mental and psychological health (neuropsychiatric disorders), cancer, unintentional injuries (accidents), infant and child health, women's health, degenerative diseases of the nervous system associated with ageing, respiratory diseases, diabetes and diseases such as HIV/AIDS. It also wanted measures to be developed for improving information on medicines on the Internet, for example by means of recognisable Community seals of approval to designate sites as trustworthy. Other measures proposed by the committee included immunisation campaigns, research into disorders induced by mobile telephones, electromagnetic fields and exposure to depleted uranium, analysing and assessing the impact of environmental pollution on health and developing strategies for reducing antibiotic resistance. �