Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (6-7 December 2010)

Wednesday 17th November 2010 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Anne Milton)]

The Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council will meet on 6-7 December. The health and consumer affairs part of the Council will be taken on 7 December.

Legislative items on the main agenda, on which the presidency are likely to ask Ministers for political agreement are: a directive on prevention of the entry into the legal supply chain of medicinal products which are falsified in relation to their identity, history or source and a regulation on provision of food information to consumers. The UK supports the adoption of both of these proposals.

The presidency are also expected to propose the adoption of Council conclusions on the following:

investing in Europe’s health work force of tomorrow: scope for innovation and collaboration;

a co-ordinated action for stimulating, measuring and valorising pharmaceutical innovation;

innovative approaches for chronic illnesses in public health and health care systems;

supply of radioisotopes; and

lessons to be learned from the HlNl pandemic—health security in the European Union.

The UK supports the adoption of these Council conclusions.

Under any other business, information will be provided from the presidency on a recast of the three directives on medical devices, on the fourth conference of the parties at the WHO framework convention on tobacco control, which took place on 15-20 November 2010, and on a number of conferences that took place under the Belgian presidency. In addition, we expect the Commission to provide information to the Council on the proposals for a directive and a regulation on information to the general public on medicinal products subject to medical prescription.