COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 2 June 1994 on the framework for Community action in the field of public health (94/C 165/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Whereas on 11 November 1991, the Council and the Ministers for Health, meeting within the Council, adopted a resolution (1) concerning fundamental health-policy choices;

Whereas on 27 May 1993 the Council and the Ministers for Health meeting within the Council, adopted a resolution (2) on future action in the field of public health, which includes in its Annex guidelines on this action;

Whereas, on 19 November 1993 the European Parliament adopted a resolution on public health policy after Maastricht;

Whereas on 1 December 1993 the Commission forwarded to the Council a communication on the framework for action in the field of public health in the light of the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union which introduced, inter alia, Article 3 (o) and Article 129 into the EC Treaty;

Whereas efforts to achieve the objective, set in Article 3 (o) of the Treaty, of a contribution by the Community towards ensuring a high level of health protection must be undertaken within an appropriate framework in which the respective roles of the Community institutions and the Member States are defined, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity;

Whereas the breadth of the health problems which may be the subject of cooperation and coordination between Member States requires the development of an overall approach;

Whereas under that approach it is necessary, having regard to the necessary available resources, to determine priorities, selection criteria and selection procedures, conduct periodic reviews of the objectives of Community actions and assess their impact and continued relevance,

CONSIDERS that the Commission communication on the framework for action in the field of public health constitutes an important contribution to the development of Community policies and actions in the field of public health pursuant to Article 129 of the Treaty;

RECALLS that the emphasis should be on the encouragement of enhanced cooperation between Member States and coordination of their activities in liaison with the Commission;

STRESSES that the need to ensure the continuity, consistency and definition of priorities of the Community's efforts points to the definition of a timetable of Community actions and to the identification of the financial and other resources required to implement them;

CONSIDERS that the methodology leading from the identification of objectives to the selection of priorities by means of appropriate criteria should be kept under review with a view to a better definition of priorities of efforts in this field;

AGREES that first priority should at present be given to cancer, drug dependence, Aids and other communicable diseases, and health promotion, education and training, as well as disease surveillance and the collection of reliable and comparable health-data;

EMPHASIZES that Community action should be aimed at supporting and encouraging cooperation between Member States, and promoting coordination of their policies and programmes for health protection in the priority areas, including the development and dissemination of effective methodologies, know-how and indicators to monitor progress;

AGREES that, in order to ensure Community resources are used effectively in those areas and to determine in which other areas Community action may be necessary, further consideration needs to be given to:

- the setting up of mechanisms which can ensure that Member States are fully involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of Community activities,

- the manner in which health protection requirements are to form a constituent part of the Community's other policies,

- the manner in which cooperation on public health matters between the Member States, the Community and international organizations competent in the sphere of public health may be extended and strengthened,

- the manner in which cooperation on public health matters between the Member States, the Community and third countries may be developed,

INVITES the Commission to:

- bring forward proposals for action in the priority areas that have been identified in this resolution,

- bring forward proposals for the setting up of a consultative body to provide advice to the Commission in the formulation of health-related proposals,

- keep under regular review the areas in which specific action and measures need to be taken and assess the financial and other resources required to implement them,

- submit a global multiannual programme plan of existing and future Community actions, together with a quantified estimate of the resources required to carry them out, and will take account of the guidelines appearing in the Annex.

(1) OJ No C 304, 23. 11. 1991, p. 5.

(2) OJ No C 174, 25. 6. 1993, p. 1.

ANNEX

1. The methodology for the selection of priorities should take into account all factors affecting health as well as budgetary constraints, and should use criteria distinguished between those that are health-related (such as mortality and morbidity and risk factors, including socio-economic differences in health), those that are implemental (such as availability of effective methods and measures of prevention, or potential for their development) and Community-related criteria.

2. Data and indicators used should include measures relating to the quality of life of the population, accurate assessments of health needs, estimations of the avoidable deaths from the prevention of diseases, socio-economic factors in health among different population groups and, where appropriate, if the Member States judge it necessary health aid, medical practices and the impact of reforms.

3. Future proposals must emphasize the strong link between health research and disease prevention, recognize the health dimension in Community-supported research activities and develop a coherent practical approach to incorporate this dimension. The targets of the public health programme should also be targets of the programmes for promotion of research.

4. Drug dependence, referred to in Article 129 (1) second subparagraph of the EC Treaty as a major scourge, must be the subject of comprehensive actions in the sphere of public health, which should be proposed by the Commission for consideration by the Council as a matter of urgency. These actions should be so defined as to draw maximum advantage from the possibilities offered by other Community policies as well as the information activities of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 302/93 (1) establishing the said Monitoring Centre.

5. Cardio-vascular, mental and chronic diseases which account for a very high level of morbidity and total health expenditure, must be examined forthwith with a view to identifying the kind and extent of actions that have to be undertaken at Community level in order to assist the efforts of the Member States in this area.

(1) OJ No L 36, 12. 2. 1993, p. 1.