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Summary: Putting Health on the Agenda: Practitioner Perspectives from Elizabeth Kuiper

Ideas on Europe Blog - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 12:58

EUHealthGov held its third Practitioner Perspective on 19th July 2023. We were delighted to host Elizabeth Kuiper, Associate Director and Head of the Social Europe and Well-being programme at the European Policy Centre (EPC) to discuss the evolving place of health on policy agendas between the COVID-19 pandemic and upcoming changes with a new Commission term and European Parliament elections in 2024.

Against the backdrop of current interconnected challenges spanning the geopolitical context and cost-of-living crises, the profile of health on EU-level agendas has gained more prominence. This has emerged not only via learnings from COVID-19 for public health and EU competence in health, but also via Commission President Von der Leyen’s greater ambitions for health from December 2019, where the previous Commission had seen health famously characterised as a “small thing”.

Elizabeth Kuiper’s experience of working in Brussels since 2010 has taken place alongside this evolving profile of health. Her work with the EPC on health has included highlighting the recent discussions about potential Treaty change and the contrasts between citizens’ calls for, and politicians’ equivocations regarding, more EU-level health competence in connection with marking 30 years of health as a Treaty competence in the Maastricht Treaty. The EPC have also engaged with the current evolutions regarding EU governance and the implications for health, issuing a bold proposal for an Executive Vice President for the Wellbeing Economy.

Elizabeth’s presentation also introduced the EPC’s recent work on examining what the European Health Union means – including as a narrowly-defined concept, or an aspiration. Bringing together a broad coalition of stakeholders (including academics and health representatives), the European Health Union Task Force has enabled the EPC to develop concrete recommendations which will be launched on 12th September 2023.

The EPC’s focus has been on extending the European Health Union beyond the now well-established pillars (including pandemic preparedness and the European Health Data Space) and questions of Treaty competence in recognition of attention this has received in other fora, notably the Conference on the Future of Europe. The directions indicated by this work include extending use of joint procurement to address inequalities and access, particularly for rare diseases; elevating HERA’s status to ensure more independence and autonomy in recognition that perspectives on health may change with the new Commission in 2024; highlighting the need for better implementation of recommendations for addressing the skills gap in the health workforce; and the need to explore more partnerships across the world and work more holistically at the global level in tackling health emergencies.

A recording of this event is available here.

The post Summary: Putting Health on the Agenda: Practitioner Perspectives from Elizabeth Kuiper appeared first on Ideas on Europe.

Categories: European Union

Split on Africa Big-Agri sees boycott at UN food summit

Euobserver.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 12:14
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Categories: European Union

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Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 11:48
Almost ten years after its launch, the EU’s energy security strategy needs to be rewritten in light of the climate crisis and Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine, writes Joanna Mackowiak Pandera.
Categories: European Union

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Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 11:04
As inter-institutional negotiations get underway on the EU’s contentious nature restoration law, EURACTIV’s network took a look at how farmers across 10 member states are implementing nature-based solutions in agriculture.
Categories: European Union

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Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 11:03
While climate adaptation plans across European cities are improving, a lack of funding and staff shortages still deter municipalities from investing in climate mitigation and adaptation measures.
Categories: European Union

Italy eyes €19bn in EU post-COVID funds for energy investments

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 10:10
Italy said on Thursday (27 July) it planned to use EU money to fund an investment programme worth around €19 billion to strengthen power and gas grids and make its economy greener.
Categories: European Union

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Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 10:00
Stretched to its limit by the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine, rising borrowing costs, and high inflation, the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework (MFF), the EU long-term budget, has no room for maneuver left. To make sure it remains fit...
Categories: European Union

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Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 08:45
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Categories: European Union

‘Deep’ renovations needed to meet climate goals, French industry warns

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 08:05
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Categories: European Union

AI Creation and Copyright: Unraveling the debate on originality, ownership

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 08:00
Whether AI systems can create original work sparks intense discussions among philosophers, jurists, and computer scientists and touches on issues of ownership, copyright, and economic competition, writes Stefano Quintarelli. Stefano Quintarelli is an information technology specialist, a former member of...
Categories: European Union

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Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 07:35
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Categories: European Union

Russian, Chinese officials join Kim Jong Un at North Korea military parade

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 07:05
Chinese and Russian officials stood shoulder to shoulder with Kim Jong Un as they reviewed North Korea's latest nuclear-capable missiles and new attack drones at a military parade in Pyongyang, North Korean state media showed on Friday (28 July).
Categories: European Union

FAO official: EU shouldn’t sacrifice food output in sustainability’s name

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 07:02
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Categories: European Union

Ukrainian forces press southward, say strategic village recaptured from Russians

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 06:44
Ukrainian forces pressed their counteroffensive through the Russian-occupied southeast on Thursday (27 July), capturing the village of Staromaiorske in a campaign to drive a wedge through Russian defensive positions.
Categories: European Union

Earth reaches ‘Plastic Overshoot Day’ as waste crisis continues

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 06:30
For the first time, campaigners have proclaimed Friday 28 July 2023 as the date when the amount of plastic produced globally exceeds the capacity of waste management systems to absorb it, a move aimed at raising awareness about the issue.
Categories: European Union

Inside EU, no clear financial options to reduce Ukraine grain transport cost

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 06:07
The EU has no money in the budget and no clear way to help finance the extra transport costs Ukrainian grain exports will face with the end of the Black Sea deal, leaving an opportunity for Moscow to cash in.
Categories: European Union

African, Caribbean nations join forces to call for reparations for slavery

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 05:46
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Categories: European Union

China tops agenda as Biden meets Meloni in Washington

Euractiv.com - Fri, 28/07/2023 - 05:26
US President Joe Biden met Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House on Thursday (27 July), vowing to deepen economic ties and strengthen cooperation on challenges posed by China, but skirted differences over LGTBQ rights.
Categories: European Union

Russian flags waved as putsch topples Niger leader

Euobserver.com - Thu, 27/07/2023 - 18:34
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Categories: European Union

French artist lobby urges government to tackle copyright issues on AI

Euractiv.com - Thu, 27/07/2023 - 18:19
A leading French artist rights organisation has expressed solidarity with 160,000 US actors on strike and fears about Artificial Intelligence taking their jobs, in an open letter to the Ministry of Culture.
Categories: European Union

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