Belgium, as EU Council Presidency, wants to finalize a document on the EU health data space before the end of the European Parliament’s term, but Belgium says it remains difficult to finalize negotiations with MEPs on the issue. The Federal Minister of Health told Euronews.
advertisementAccording to the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Frank Vandenbroucke, the Belgian Presidency’s “optimism of the will” is due to a lack of agreement between EU ministers and MEPs on the last major health issue left during this parliamentary mandate. It is said to be the “secret weapon” of the Belgian president’s office when resolving differences of opinion. The person responsible for the health portfolio.
“I can only promise you that we will do our best. We have to land. [on a compromise] “Even if the time is very short,” he said, adding that other EU ministers were also keen to resolve outstanding issues regarding the EHDS.
Vandenbroucke, who will lead EU Council negotiations in the coming months, said a key unresolved sensitive issue relates to the safe use of patient data.
In particular, legislators have emphasized fundamental guarantees, such as the right to object to processing of personal data, granted to individuals under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU framework for common pseudonymized data sharing. The original proposal has been requested to be updated to include this.
“The question is: how can data sharing be regulated so that comprehensive, well-organized datasets are available to those who can use them for the benefit of patients, but in a way that respects the rights of the public? asked Mr. Vandenbroucke.
Although divergent opinions have prevented a final agreement on the text, the Belgian Minister said that those around the negotiating table were clear on the core tenets of the Commission’s original proposal, which started with the empowerment of citizens. I believe you agree.
“There is a shared desire for safety in the provision and use of data, minimization of risk, and comprehensive sharing to improve not only health care but also science and research,” he said.
A comprehensive framework at EU level is “sorely needed” to improve the quality of the growing national efforts in this area. More recently, Belgium also launched a national health data agency to facilitate access to data for secondary use.
“Think about orphan drugs. How many patients with rare diseases are there in Belgium? Not that many,” he said, adding that to derive insights to rapidly advance these treatments, It added that samples and data from across the EU are needed.
Preparing for the Important Drugs Act
The Belgian president’s program, which runs until the end of June, is packed with health initiatives. “We are at a critical juncture, so we need an ambitious program like this,” Vandenbroucke said.
In particular, the issue of drug shortages is an issue that the Belgian president “definitely wants to see improved.” “Being able to convey to the public that we are working together to guarantee the supply of medicines everywhere is certainly an important aspect for the European Health Union,” he said.
Last December, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published its long-awaited Critical Medicines List, which takes into account more than 200 active substances that are essential to healthcare systems across Europe.
“It builds on the work done by EMA and now Hella, DG Grow and DG Sante. [the Commission’s services responsible for the list]we will begin mapping the vulnerabilities and risks of a limited set of medicines to improve our actions,” he explained.
The effort is expected to give life to a full-fledged critical medicines law in the future, and Vandenbroucke sees it as a “series of legal initiatives,” including: , amendments to the EU framework for pharmaceutical procurement should include price, as well as further consideration of aspects such as supply risk and economic sustainability.
In this sense, the announcement of the Critical Medicines Alliance, a platform for voluntary cooperation in the field of critical medicines supply open to all stakeholders, is an “intermediate and pragmatic step towards a Critical Medicines Act”. ‘, he said.
“[The] The invitation is now open and all parties interested in cooperation are welcome to participate,” Vandenbroucke said, adding that he hoped to present the full alliance itself at the next meeting of EU health ministers on April 24.
Medical workers and cancer control
Another area of concern is the difficult situation faced by health workers across Africa. The issue was discussed in Paris last week at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) health ministers’ meeting, chaired by Vandenbroucke himself.
“We are experiencing a very difficult decade for fundamental demographic reasons,” he said.
advertisementHe believes Europe risks being caught between two trends: an aging population that requires more care and a wave of health workers retiring.
Vandenbroucke said “zero-sum solutions” such as importing health workers from countries facing shortages should be avoided in the first step.
He said solutions would be found through cooperation at EU level, respecting that both investment in the health workforce and health workforce reform remain national capabilities.
However, the minister said real reform could be driven by learning from each other at EU level. “In my 25 years of experience, the EU is often a very productive forum for exchanging experiences and changing frontiers of thinking.”
However, there is one legal instrument, the Professional Qualifications Directive, through which the EU can approach this issue not as a public health issue but from the perspective of the internal market within which it has jurisdiction.
advertisement“We would like to see some kind of critical reflection on that legal framework,” Vandenbroucke said.
Although “quite formal and rigid”, the framework curbs national idiosyncrasies in awarding titles to health professionals with reference to training and education, and allows for the mobility of professionals across the EU. do.
The Minister considered that the existing framework “may be insufficiently protective” in guaranteeing the movement of healthcare workers across Europe, when compared with the goal of ensuring maximum protection for patients. ing.
The Belgian Presidency will also focus on important inventory activities of the EU’s cancer elimination plan.
“This is a great initiative, but some of the progress that has been made, particularly legal efforts around cross-border taxation of tobacco and labeling of alcoholic beverages, appears to be stalling,” he said.
advertisementBelgium is planning a high-level meeting on alcohol labeling, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recently exasperated at the neglect of the issue at EU level. “We want to create new momentum on this,” he said.