Employment, Social Policy & Health

Transcription

1 SECTORAL COMMITTEE WEEKLY UPDATE Employment, Social Policy & Health Contents Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumers Council - HEALTH European Semester Country Recommendations Population Projections

2 Council EMPLOYMENT, SOCIAL POLICY, HEALTH AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS COUNCIL June 6, 2011 The 3095th session of the Council of the European Union - Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs was dedicated exclusively to Health issues under the presidency of Miklós Réthelyi, Hungarian Minister for national resources, and Miklós Szócska, Minister of State for Health. Ministers adopted conclusions on: the European Pact for Mental Health and Wellbeing; Innovation in the Medical Device Sector; Childhood Immunisation; and Modern, Responsive and Sustainable Health Systems. Ministers discussed the recent outbreak of measles within the European Union and underlined the need to continue to intensify their efforts to ensure consistently high coverage rates to prevent such disease outbreaks. The Head of the European Centre for Disease Control highlighted that the measles vaccine has an excellent safety profile whilst measles itself is a disease with potentially serious consequences. Ministers exchanged views on best practices undertaken to respond to the issue. Ministers had a round table discussion on initiatives that need to be taken to ensure that European health systems remain responsive and sustainable particularly in the wake of the financial and economic crisis. Ministers mentioned their support for the use of Health Technology Assessment and e-health to maximise efficiency gains and performance. Page 2 The Council also discussed the E. coli outbreak. The Commission gave its latest update on the epidemiological information relating to this outbreak and explained that the situation is being monitored continuously in collaboration with the Member States and experts. Commissioner for Health and Consumers, John Dalli, explained that the suspected source, as yet awaiting confirmation of lab diagnosis is bean sprouts in Germany. The Commissioner emphasised that as yet there was no evidence to support any ban on foodstuffs. Germany reported that the number of new cases has been decreasing but a high level of alert will still be maintained. Maltese Minister of Health, the Elderly and Community Care, Dr Joseph Cassar, who attended the meeting, explained how Malta takes special attention to ensure a high level of coverage in vulnerable ethnic minority groups. He also mentioned the introduction of a new e-health system which records vaccines given, generates reports and alerts persons who are overdue for vaccines. An intensive exercise to recall children not reported as having been vaccinated with measles vaccine also took place in recent months. The value of schoolbased vaccination in achieving high coverage rates was also mentioned.

3 With regard to the modernisation of health systems, Minister Cassar explained that Malta has been working to bring about efficiency gains in its health system over the past four years. He specifically mentioned the setting up of a Division that focuses on sustainability and a financial monitoring and control unit within the Ministry as examples of good practice. He also mentioned that since 2010, a maximum reference price is being set for innovative expensive medicines being introduced on the government formulary. He explained that a major e health investment will be taking place in the coming months. The public health dimension of migration from the Southern Neighbourhood was also debated by health Ministers. Minister Cassar highlighted the burden that Malta experienced in its health sector as a result of the migration phenomenon. He proposed the setting up of a special fund at European level to compensate the most affected Member States for the added burden on their healthcare services including the costs of medicines to treat this vulnerable population. Council Conclusions The European Pact for Mental Health and Well-Being - Conclusions Innovation in the Medical Device Sector - Conclusions Childhood Immunisation - Conclusions Page 3 Towards modern, responsive and sustainable health systems - Conclusions

4 Commission First European Semester 2011 country-specific recommendations COM (2011) Communication from the Commission Concluding the first European semester of economic policy coordination: Guidance for national policies in The Commission has adopted 27 sets of country-specific recommendations plus one for the Euro area as a whole to help Member States gear up their economic and social policies to deliver on growth, jobs and public finances. Earlier this year, Member States and the Commission agreed on 10 key priorities to face the current crisis while paving the way for a more sustainable economy 1. (ESPH Update ). As situations vary from one country to another, the Commission is recommending targeted measures for each Member State. This should help each country to focus on strategic levers in the next 12 to 18 months, and thus boost EU economy as a whole. These sets of recommendations are part of the European Semester, whereby Member States and the Commission have been coordinating their economic and budgetary policies. Once priorities were agreed to at EU level, Member States presented their national programmes which the Commission has now fully assessed through these tailored, targeted and measurable recommendations. Page 4 The Commission said that overall, Member States have sought to reflect the agreed EU priorities in their programmes and their macroeconomic assumptions are broadly realistic. However, national programmes often lack ambition and specificity. Many Member States need to be more ambitious on fiscal consolidation, while maintaining growth-enhancing measures (research and innovation, business environment, competition in the services sector). On labour markets, more efforts are needed to increase labour-force participation, combat structural unemployment, reduce youth unemployment and early school-leaving and ensure wages reflect productivity. The recommendations will be debated and endorsed by the European Council on June, after discussion in the ECOFIN and EPSCO Councils. Implementation will be monitored over the course of the coming year by the Commission and by Member States through a rigorous and ongoing peer-review process. The Commission will assess progress at EU level in its next Annual Growth Survey in January 2012 and for each Member State in its next set of country-specific recommendations in June COM (2011) 11 - Annual Growth Survey: advancing the EU's comprehensive response to the crisis

5 With regard to Malta, the Commission recommends action within the period to: Ensure correction of the excessive deficit in 2011, standing ready to take additional measures so as to prevent possible slippages, and adopt concrete measures to back up the 2012 deficit target. Take action to ensure the sustainability of the pension system by accelerating the progressive increase in the retirement age and by linking it to life expectancy; accompany the higher statutory retirement age with a comprehensive active ageing strategy; discourage the use of early retirement schemes; and encourage private pension savings. Focus education outcomes more on labour market needs, notably by taking measures to improve access to higher education and by strengthening the effectiveness of the vocational training system. Take measures to reduce early school-leaving by identifying, analysing and measuring its causes by 2012 and by setting up a regular monitoring and reporting mechanism on the success rate of the measures. Reform the automatic wage indexation mechanism, in consultation with the social partners in accordance with national practice, to ensure that wage growth better reflects developments in labour productivity and competitiveness. Strengthen efforts to reduce Malta s dependence on imported oil, by bringing forward investments in renewable energies and making full use of available EU funds to upgrade infrastructure and promote energy efficiency Country-Specific Recommendations in the context of the European Semester: Frequently Asked Questions L&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=fr Page 5 Country Specific Recommendations Recommendation for a COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION on the National Reform Programme 2011 of Malta and delivering a Council opinion on the updated Stability Programme of Malta

6 Eurostat Population projections The EU27 population is projected to increase to 525 million in In 2010 it was 501 million. It is expected to peak at 526 million around 2040, and gradually decline to 517 million in The EU27 population is also projected to continue to grow older, with the share of the population aged 65 years and over rising from 17% in 2010 to 30% in 2060, and those aged 80 and over rising from 5% to 12% over the same period. Between 2010 and 2060, the population is projected to rise in fourteen Member States and fall in thirteen. The strongest population growth is projected to be found in Ireland (+46%), followed by Luxembourg, Cyprus, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Sweden. The sharpest declines are expected in Bulgaria (-27%), followed by Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Germany. The EU27 population is expected to become older throughout the projection period, due in particular to relatively low fertility and an increasing number of people living to higher ages. This ageing process will occur in all Member States. Comparing 2060 with the situation one hundred years before, in 1960, the share of those aged 65 or more is expected to increase between two and six times in the Member States for which data are available. In 2060, the share of the population aged 80 or more is projected to be 12% on average in the EU27. Compared with the situation in 1960, the share of those aged 80 or more is expected to grow between five and eighteen times by 2060 in the Member States for which data are available. Page 6 In consequence, the old age dependency ratio in the EU27, i.e. the population aged 65 years and older divided by the population aged 15 to 64, is projected to increase from 26% in 2010 to 53% in In other words, there would be only two persons aged 15 to 64 for every person aged 65 or more in 2060, compared with four persons to one in Population Growth since January 2010 (%) EU Malta Population projections EN.PDF