Euro Brief


16-30 April 2005, No.8/2005 50th Edition
“Welcome to the 50th Edition of Eurobrief. Eurobrief has been bringing you the latest news from the European Union twice monthly since January 2003. The original edition led with a vote in the Parliament’s health committee on more information for silicone breast implant patients and also covered a report on healthcare for the elderly, an EU bid to break the WTO deadlock on access to medicines, a judgement relating to smuggling made against tobacco companies, animal testing for cosmetics and proposals to strengthen EU powers in public health from within the Convention writing the draft EU constitution.

Eurobrief has gone on to cover a whole range of issues of interest to the medical professions such as the Commission proposal to allow doctors from other EU countries to practice for up to four months without registering. The BMA helped overturn the proposal. Eurobrief has also been first to reveal Commission plans to water down the Working Time Directive, as well as proposals to apply controversial internal market rules to the healthcare sector and has followed increasingly sensitive developments in the European Convention and the InterGovernmental Conference which drew up the draft EU Constitution.

Eurobriefs are regularly posted on the BMA website but if you think your committee members would benefit from receiving Eurobrief directly, then please send me a list of e-mail addresses. If you have any ideas for future Eurobriefs then please call me on 00322 502 8501” Kevin Doran, BMA European Liaison Officer

MEPs Want End to Individual Opt-Outs from Working Time Rules
The European Parliament’s Employment and Social Affairs Committee voted on 20th April to phase out the “opt-out” from the 48-hour working week three years after the new rules are implemented by Member States. Parliament is currently carrying out its first reading of the European Commission’s proposal to revise the EU rules on working time. The Commission had originally wanted to tighten up the use of the opt-out and had proposed that individual workers should only be able to agree to an opt-out on the basis of a collective agreement or on an individual basis where collective bargaining arrangements do not exist.

MEPs also voted on provisions relating to the way in which time spent “on-call” is counted and on extending from four months to one year the period over which weekly working time can be averaged. Parliament will vote on the proposal at its May plenary session but must reach agreement with Member States before the text can go on the statute book. There are two blocking minorities in the Council of Member States; one that wants to keep the opt-out and one that wants to dump it. The UK wants to keep the opt-out at all costs and its insistence on the matter could rule out an early agreement on the new rules.

Language Requirement for Migrant EU Doctors
A BMA amendment to allow for language testing of migrant doctors from within the EU has been passed, in part, at the second reading vote on the mutual recognition of professional qualifications draft directive at the European Parliament's Internal Market Committee. A compromise, which accepts all existing 52 medical specialities currently, entitled to automatic recognition to continue to do so. After the directive enters into force a qualification would have to be acceptable to 10 out of the 25 EU member states.

This in itself would have reduced the number of specialities being recognised for the purposes of this directive. However, with the new compromise amendment those qualifications entitled to automatic recognition on the day the directive enters into force will not be affected by the 10/25 threshold. Furthermore, member states who want to recognise eachothers' qualifications bilaterally would be allowed to do so outwith the directive.

This compromise is an improvement on the Council's Common Position as far as the medical professions are concerned. It remains to be seen whether the Council will throw it out or even whether the full Parliament rejects the amendment in second reading plenary

Healthcare Cost Warning of new EU Paediatrics Medicines Law
The EU's draft regulation on paediatric medicine has come under attack from the generics industry. The European Generics Association (EGA) has warned against fast-tracking the EU law which aims to give big pharma companies an extra six months patent protection for medicines targeted specifically at children. This is part of a package that rewards companies for bringing new paediatric drugs to the market.

The EGA says this should only apply to low-selling products rather than blockbusters that make quick profits. The EGA warns this would be unnecessarily costly to healthcare budgets. The patented drug industry says that the six-month extension should be a strict minimum requirement.

Chemicals Directive should cover Tobacco says MEP
The chairman of the European Parliament’s influential Environment committee is gathering support to extend the controversial draft chemicals legislation “REACH” to cover tobacco.

Many of the chemical additives are currently approved as foodstuffs but when mixed in a burning cigarette additives can turn into substances, which are carcinogenic. A burning cigarette can contain a heady cocktail of chemicals, including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic and nickel. Other highly toxic substances, which are contained in cigarette smoke, are ammonia, hydrocyanic acid, carbon monoxide and mercury. Florenz says that the inclusion of tobacco additives in chemicals testing fits the risk based method. Tobacco smoke would be classified as carcinogenic if registered under the REACH regime Under the Florenz amendment, manufacturers or importers of tobacco will have to have all additives approved. A large number will then be prohibited.

MEP Slams Colleagues for Cowing to Business on Health Claim Laws
The Belgian MEP, Frederique Ries, who has written the draft report for the European Parliament on Health Claims made by food manufacturers, has turned on Environment and Health committee colleagues for voting against a key provision in the draft legislation.

She criticised members for bowing to pressure from UK and German business interests after the dropped a measure that would oblige producers to label the nutrient profiles of products marketed as being healthy, rich or low in fat or cholesterol (article 4). However, she welcomed a vote to keep a ban on health claims directed at children under 12. She wants MEPs to restore compulsory labelling requirements when they vote on the report in the plenary sitting of 25-26 May.

© British Medical Association 2008

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