Together for Health: a strategic approach for the EU 2008-2013
The division of competences between the EU and its Member States has meant that there has been no overarching EU Public Health Strategy for decades. An important development is the white paper Together for Health: a strategic approach for the EU 2008-2013 which sets out for the first time, an overarching strategic framework spanning core issues in health, as well as health in all policies.
The strategy recognises those areas in public health which could benefit from an EU approach and sets out the principles and objectives that will form the basis for EU action in the years to come.
The EPDA identifies with the majority of the principles within the strategy, but of most interest are those on recognising the links between health and economic prosperity and reducing inequalities across the EU. The Health Strategy also puts forward a number of objectives where the EU wants to add value in the field of public health.
Of importance to EPDA is the first objective Fostering good health in an ageing Europe.
This explicitly recognises that action at EU level is needed to deal with the challenges of an ageing population. Under this objective, the Commission makes specific reference to the need for a better understanding of neurodegenerative diseases. Because of this acknowledgement, the Commission can make resources available to help increase understanding of Parkinson’s through the dissemination of best practice and guidelines.
The Commission is currently commencing its review of the current Health Strategy which will run until 2013.
Second Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health 2008-2013
The Second Programme of Community Action in the Field of Health 2008-2013 came into force on 1 January 2008 and is intended to implement the Health Strategy. It does this by setting more specific objectives and outlining how these can be reached. The Second Programme aims to complement, support and add value to the policies of the Member States.
The programme indicates those areas where work is needed and therefore where focus will be put. While it does not mention neurodegenerative diseases specifically, the programme does set out that ageing-related health issues should be addressed and therefore gives the Commission the opportunity to include proposals on those issues in the specific implementation programmes. It also encourages the exchange of best practice, the dissemination of health information and knowledge, and the establishment of European reference networks for specific conditions.
It provides funding for activities e.g. falling under the heading - promotion of healthy ageing. More specifically, the 2010 Work Plan for this programme provides funding for projects which address mental health promotion and prevention through education settings; promotion for the creation of regional and local networks and implementation strategies for mental health promotion that involve health and other public authorities and other stakeholders; and the promotion of interdisciplinary cooperation between health professionals and exchange of best practices, especially between member states.
The EPDA aims to work to ensure that Parkinson’s disease remains one of the areas covered by this funding scheme. It will also consider applying for grants to support its own EU-wide projects, using its large network of members to, for example, highlight health inequalities in Parkinson’s disease or inequalities in government financing of patient organisations and the impact this has on patient services.
Annual work plans
The Second Programme is implemented by means of annual work plans that set out the more specific priority areas, and the funding criteria for dividing the financial resources allocated in the programme. The success of the Second Programme really depends on the level of stakeholder engagement through the annual plans.
For four consecutive years, the annual work plans have contained proposals for work on Parkinson’s. Again, the recently published Work Plan for 2010 for the implementation of the second work programme of Community action in the field of health contains a specific reference to Parkinson’s:
“Support to the creation of networks of action on neurodegenerative or neurodevelopmental diseases not covered by existing EU actions (e.g. Parkinson, epilepsy, etc.). These networks should constitute key instruments to increase stakeholders’ cooperation and consensus initiatives on best practices and epidemiological knowledge on these diseases and contribute to developing clinical research. The aim is to have better comparable European information in the area of neurodegenerative/neurodevelopmental diseases, following the Communication on Alzheimer’s and other dementias.”
The EPDA aims to work with the Commission (Executive Agency for Health and Consumers) to develop EU guidelines and coordinate the dissemination and analysis of best practice for the management and treatment of people with Parkinson’s.
EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development
This is the EU’s main instrument for funding European research. The Seventh Programme (FP7) will run from 2007 to 2013, with an estimated total budget of €51 billion. FP7 aims to boost investment in health systems, and how this integration of health will help to enhance EU growth, employment and innovation.
The programme is organised into four basic components of European research: Cooperation, Ideas, People and Capacities. The Cooperation programme accounts for over half of FP7’s total budget and is sub-divided into nine themes, including health, and supports all types of research activities carried out in trans-national cooperation.
Under FP7, the annual Work Programme is prepared by the European Commission and is based on the Commission’s Advisory Group and Programme Committee (both made up of national experts and EU member state representatives).
The 2011 Work Programme is currently under discussion, the outcome of which will decide on the topics that will fall within the “Cooperation” programme. The Work Programme is usually published in July/August after which point, discussions on the following year’s Work Programme will commence. The EPDA aims to influence decisions made on the topics of the annual Work Programme by garnering EU and national support through the association’s network of national members. The goal is for national and European authorities to prioritise research for Parkinson’s disease (or neurodegenerative disease, more generally). Negotiations on the general shape of FP8 are already under discussion.
