Decision 2007/1350 - Decision 1350/2007/EC establishing a second programme of Community action in the field of health (2008-13) - Main contents

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 301/3

The Community can contribute to protecting the health and safety of citizens through actions in the field of public health. A high level of health protection should be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community policies and activities. Under Article 152 of the Treaty, the Community is required to play an active role by taking measures which cannot be taken by individual Member States, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity. The Community fully respects the responsibilities of the Member States for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care.

The health sector is characterised on the one hand by its considerable potential for growth, innovation and dynamism, and on the other by the challenges it faces in terms of financial and social sustainability and efficiency of the health care systems due, among other things, to ageing of the population and to medical advances.

The programme of Community action in the field of public health (2003-08), adopted by Decision No 1786/2002/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (4), was the first integrated Community programme in this field, and it has already delivered a number of important developments and improvements.

Continued effort is required in order to meet the objectives already established by the Community in the field of public health. It is therefore appropriate to establish a second programme of Community action on health (2008-13) (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Programme’).

A number of serious cross-border health threats with a possible worldwide dimension exist and new ones are emerging which require further Community action. The Community should treat serious cross-border health threats as a matter of priority. The Programme should place emphasis on strengthening the Community’s overall capacities by further developing cooperation between the Member States. Monitoring, early warning and action to combat serious threats to health are important areas where an effective and coordinated response to health threats should be promoted at Community level. Action to ensure high-quality diagnostic cooperation between laboratories is essential in order to respond to health threats. The Programme should encourage the establishment of a system of Community reference laboratories. However, such a system needs to be based on a sound legal base.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) European Health report 2005, in terms of Disability Adjusted Life-Years (DALYs), the most important causes of the burden of disease in the WHO European Region are non-communicable diseases (NCDs — 77 % of the total), external causes of injury and poisoning (14 %) and communicable diseases (9 %). Seven leading conditions — ischaemic heart disease, unipolar depressive disorders, cerebrovascular disease, alcohol use disorders, chronic pulmonary disease, lung cancer and road traffic injuries — account for 34 % of the DALYs in the region. Seven leading risk factors — tobacco, alcohol, high blood pressure, high cholesterol,...