Public health: Community action programme 2003-2008

The committee adopted the report by Antonios TRAKATELLIS (EPP-ED, GR) amending the Council's common position under the codecision procedure (2nd reading). It retabled a large number of key amendments adopted by Parliament at first reading. One of these reiterated the demand for funding to be increased to EUR 380m, as opposed to the EUR 300m originally proposed by the Commission and the EUR 280 now being proposed in the Council's common position. Other amendments focused on issues such as the effectiveness and cohesion of health programmes, the general aims of the action programme, the establishment of public health quality standards, epidemiological surveillance, the control and prevention of communicable diseases and the need for priority to be given to health protection measures. The committee wanted Community assistance to be provided to support the activities of non-profit making organisations active at European level in the field of public health. It also called for the programme to provide assistance to applicant countries striving to raise the health standards of their populations and for increased measures to combat communicable diseases in the EU and in Eastern Europe.�