§ Mr. Jim MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the outcome of the Health Council held in Brussels on 14 December. [143618]
§ Ms StuartI attended the Health Council in Brussels on 14 December with Jane Hutt, Minister for Health and Social Services for he National Assembly for Wales A summary of outcome of the meeting is in the table.
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Health Council—14 December 2000 Agenda item Issue UK position Outcome 6b Tobacco Labelling Directive. This Directive recasts three existing Internal Market Directives concerning the tar content of cigarettes, oral tobacco and labelling of tobacco products and updates these provisions in the light of recent scientific developments in this field. Commnon Position was reached at the June Health Council. The text has been undergoing its second reading. Compromise proposals were put forward to the Parliament but no agreement was reached. The UK gave its strong support to the proposed Directive and warmly welcomed the Common Position agreed at the Health Council in June. The Directive complements UK proposed UK domestic legislation well. The UK's response to the Parliament's amendments is being considered. The Parliament voted on the amendments on 13 December and therefore there was not enough time for the Council to agree its position. The text will now be considered under the Swedish Presidency and is likely lo go to Conciliation. 6c WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The FCTC is WHO's first attempt at using its powers to establish a global treaty. Following a period of information collection, the negotiations began in October. A mandate was agreed to allow the Commission to negotiate in areas of EU competence. The UK supports and is fully participating in the negotiations. Commissioner Byrne commented on the need to revisit the negotiating mandate with a view to incorporating further areas of Community competence (e.g. taxation). 7 Council Resolution on paediatric medicines. The Resolution was initiated by the French Presidency. Its aim is to invite the Commission to come forward with proposals which encourage the development of medicines specifically for use in the treatment of children. The UK strongly supports the Resolution, although it recognises that the details of any proposals will need careful consideration. There are, for example, major ethical considerations in conducting trials in children. The Resolution was adopted. 8 Action Plan 'e-Europe 2002—An Information Society for all'. The Action Plan, which is now at the implementation stage It includes a chapter on 'Health on-Line'. DH is generally content with the proposed approach in the health chapter and is liaising closely with DTI colleagues. The Commission gave an oral progress report. 9 Clinical Trials progress report. The Directive will establish a legal framework for the conduct of clinical trials in the EU. It will provide safeguards to trial subjects and aid the development of medicines, including for children, across the EU. The UK is very supportive of the Directive. The Council accepted all the amendments approved this week by the European Parliament, thus avoiding conciliation. The Presidency concluded that a qualified majority vote existed in favour of the Directive despite attempts by the Netherlands to have a further debate on specific problems of concern to them. 10a Communicable diseases: Implementation of the European network for surveillance and rapid reaction. The Community Network for the epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases, including a Rapid Reaction Response, has completed its first year of operation. The UK is committed to the success of the Network, and to the 'network' principle to achieve its objectives. The Commission presented the progress report. 10b Communicable disease: BSE/Epidemiological situation of CJD. The purpose of this item was to debate a Commission presentation on nCJD trends. UK (Ms Stuart) welcomed the additional measures agreed in Agriculture Council and talked about the UK experience on health and social care for nCJD patients and their families The Commission had circulated the latest figures showing the number of nv CJD cases across member states. The Presidency tabled Council conclusions on further work on nCJD/BSE and the importance of Health Ministers being fully associated with public health issues at a European level, which were agreed.
Health Council—14 December 2000 Agenda item Issue UK position Outcome 11a Presentation of new texts by the Commission: Recommendation on Alcohol and the health of Young People. The Recommendation refers to health promotion, education and information measures as well as 'codes of conduct" with the advertising and alcohol industries. The UK broadly supports the Recommendation which will complement the UK's consultation paper on a National Strategy to Tackle Alcohol Misuse due to be published in the new year. The Council noted the Recommendation. 11b Blood Directive proposal. The Directive proposal aims to ensure the safety of the blood transfusion chain by setting high standards of quality and safety for the collection, processing, storage and distribution of whole blood, and blood components. The UK is fully committed to the proposal and played a strong role in getting this Recommendation passed during the UK Presidency in 1998. The Council noted the Directive proposal. 12 Any other business: European approach to clinical trials on AIDS research. The paper proposes that the Commission develop ideas on how to improve co-ordination and support for AIDS clinical trials. The UK recognises the need for and the difficulties of establishing European clinical trials in AIDS and other diseases and supports the proposal that the Commission should consider mechanisms for co-ordinating AIDS clinical trials in light of developments on the European Research Area. There was no discussion on this item.