Markos Kyprianou
European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection

Speech at the Informal EU Health Ministerial Meeting on Cancer, HIV/AIDS and Influenza

Joint Luxembourg and France Informal Health Ministers Council
Paris, 14 April 2005

President, Ministers,

I welcome the opportunity to address this Informal Council. And I congratulate the Presidency, together with France, for focussing on three pressing issues on the European health agenda - Cancer, HIV/AIDS and Influenza.

There is much to be said on each of these issues. However, time is short so I will limit my comments to current developments, and in particular to important progress on influenza pandemic preparedness.

But first cancer . This continues to be an area of high priority for the Commission. For many years the Commission's policies and actions in cancer prevention and control have been set out for our citizens in the European Code Against Cancer, now in its third edition.

As regards current activities, I would briefly mention our recently-launched anti-tobacco campaign "Help - for a life without tobacco" which we hope will mark a further erosion of the powerbase of the tobacco industry.

We are also making significant strides in the area of early detection of cancer in taking forward the Council Recommendation on cancer screening complemented by new guidelines in the pipeline on best practice and quality assurance in screening for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer.

Second, HIV/AIDS, where I am pleased that we have made significant progress since our discussion last December.

Perhaps most notable is the decision to put this issue on the agenda of the European Summit in June - a true reflection of the gravity of the subject.

And following my visit to the Russian Federation in February, the Commission is working towards including HIV/AIDS and public health in the four common spaces defining our collaboration with Russia.

Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister, Alexander Zhukov, has called on Russian business leaders and government officials to join forces in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

We will emphasise the importance of co-operation at the EU-Russia Summit on 11 May.

Finally, may I thank the Presidency for co-organising the very productive HIV/AIDS "think tank" meeting, which agreed elements for best practices on three key areas - information campaigns; access to treatment; and prevention of mother to child transmission.

This active participation of Russia, Ukraine and Moldova in this event is a good signal towards closer collaboration in the future.

Third, influenza pandemic preparedness . I welcome the major and rapid progress on the follow-up of the Council conclusions agreed in June last year.

Work focuses on 3 key issues: national plans and their coordination at EU level; vaccines and anti-viral drugs; surveillance and diagnostics.

National plans

Jointly with the WHO, we organised a workshop in March to assist the Member States of the EU and the WHO European region in updating and improving national preparedness plans. This initiative received an excellent response.

We are now working on the main aspects of the Community plan adopted in March 2004 - including coordination of communications and key counter-measures such as isolation and vaccination, use of drugs, restrictions on public gatherings, and information to the public.

A follow up is planned for later this year, which will help to close the gaps identified and to better address any weaknesses.

And preparation is under way for a Europe-wide simulation exercise, which will mirror a real pandemic and will test all aspects of our potential performance. The exercise will be conducted before the next influenza season.

Pandemic influenza vaccine and antivirals

Discussions with Member States and the vaccine industry are on the right track.

The Health Security Committee has agreed a position for engaging the industry in a public-private partnership to facilitate the rapid production of pandemic vaccines. And industry is considering converting other facilities, such as those used for veterinary medicine production, for the rapid production of vaccines in a pandemic situation.

Of course such circumstances cannot be open to commercial exploitation. The industry understands that Member States will only accept public health reasons to justify any review of current vaccine recommendations for the elderly and other vulnerable groups.

And Member States have signalled their readiness to re-double efforts to implement fully their vaccination recommendations, so as to achieve high uptake rates among the relevant population groups.

The Commission, for its part, is ready to work on the drawing up of draft Council recommendations on who is to be vaccinated on public health grounds.

Our Surveillance Scheme will monitor the uptake of vaccines and enable us to assess the Member States response to vaccination recommendations.

Collectively these moves make huge strides towards our common goal of securing protection for everyone at risk.

I should add that a similar process has started with the manufacturers of antivirals, bringing Member States and the industry together to seek a common position.

Turning to financial matters, I am pleased to announce a very positive development concerning the general availability of funds for health preparedness and vaccines in case of major public health threats.

The EU does not currently have an instrument to react rapidly to crisis situations and to show solidarity in the aftermath. The proposal for a Regulation establishing a European Union Solidarity Fund provides this possibility.

In case of the outbreak of an influenza pandemic it will be possible to resort to such a fund, according to the relevant eligibility criteria, in order to cover the contingent expenses of the Member States for the purchase of vaccines.

This would give the necessary budgetary flexibility to cope with a major health emergency. The fund would have an annual volume of 1 billion € and would explicitly cover costs of vaccines and antivirals.

I hope very much that Ministers will make every effort to secure speedy agreement of this proposal.

Surveillance for early detection

The Commission is also working to improve laboratory preparedness and to enhance collaboration between the influenza networks of the human and the animal sector.

A joint workshop in June will produce recommendations for the Chief Medical Officers and the Chief Veterinary Officers.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control will play a central role in influenza pandemic preparedness planning. When fully operational, the centre should coordinate all activities regarding risk assessment, surveillance and detection, and alert investigation.

It is however clear that all activities cannot be transferred immediately to the Centre. Priorities should be set for a smooth and gradual transfer up to June 2006.

I can assure you that the Commission will continue to keep up the momentum to ensure adequate preparedness for a possible influenza pandemic.

Our success will, however, depend heavily on strong political commitment and support, on which I trust we can count.

I look forward to discussing further progress at our next meeting in Luxembourg in June.

Thank you.