§ Mr. Jim MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what the outcome was of the Health Council held in Brussels on 29 June; and if he will make a statement. [129300]
§ Ms StuartI attended the Health Council on 29 June in Luxembourg on behalf of the United Kingdom.
The items in the table were discussed.
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Agenda item Issue UK position Outcome 7. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Update on developments on the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control UK supports the objective of the Convention in securing global action to support national initiatives Oral report from Commissioner Byrne, underlining the need for co-ordinated action in line with the Commission's negotiating mandate. There was no discussion on this item 8. Follow up to the Feira European Council To take forward the public health aspects of the Feira Council Conclusions including the integration of health into other Community policies, Food Safety White Paper and the Precautionary Principle The UK welcomes the recognition of health as both a vertical and a horizontal issue. The UK's response to the proposals for a European Food Agency has been submitted to the Commission. The UK broadly welcomes the Commission's Communication on the Precautionary Principle but it is still subject to inter-departmental discussion Health Ministers noted the outcome of the Feira summit and the Commissioner's remit to look at ways in which the horizontal aspects of the health agenda could be addressed 9. Any other business a. Conference of experts on quality and safety in the transplantation of tissue and organs of human origin — — The Presidency gave an oral report on the outcome of the conference b. Medical Devices for self-diagnosis of HIV Note from the Danish delegation concerning proposals to prohibit the marketing and use of medical devices for self-testing of HIV in Denmark The UK has no legislation in place. It does not see the need for separate regulation in this area as the Medical Devices Directive allows member states to introduce national provisions Commissioner Byrne agreed to bring this issue to the attention of Commissioner Liikanen, Commissioner for Enterprise c. Follow up of the CIDEX case A note from the Belgian delegation raising concerns about the recall of CIDEX, a medical device disinfectant produced in the UK, and proposed revisions to the Medical Devices Directive The UK acknowledges the concerns raised by Belgium and is co-operating fully with the Belgian authorities. It agrees that there are some areas where the Directive needs strengthening Following a statement from the UK, Commissioner Byrne agreed to bring this issue to the attention of Commissioner Liikanen d. Errors when administering intravenous medication in emergencies Note from the Belgian delegation proposing that minimal standards or norms be defined at European level for emergency injectable drugs The UK would resist any proposal to introduce more legislation on this issue as it is already adequately covered Commissioner Byrne agreed to bring this issue to the attention of Commissioner Liikanen