First meeting of the Committee on National Policy and Action
A summary of that first meeting that took place last November in Luxembourg is now available on the Commission’s website at: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_determinants/life_style/alcohol/documents/ev_20071105_en.pd
The Committee on National Policy and Action was set up by the DG SANCO to coordinate and further develop policies on alcohol. It is one of the three main pillars of the EU Alcohol Strategy implementation process, along with the Alcohol and Health Forum and the Committee on Data Collection, Indicators and Definitions. The Committee, which is the continuation of the Working Group on Alcohol, is composed of Member State representatives and experts, and of observers, including the World Health Organization.
The main objective of this group is to further coordinate government-driven policies aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm at national and local level, building upon the examples of good practice identified in the Commission’s Strategy. It will review national and regional alcohol policy development in the light of the strategy outlined in the Commission’s Communication, with a view to disseminating best practice across the EU.
Highlights of the meeting:
The members of the Committee will act as focal points in their respective countries, and inform the Committee about developments on alcohol policy.
The Commission services will draw up a draft document on the scope of the Committee's work, its priorities and working methods, which will be discussed at the next meeting.
The Committee members agreed to check the Member States good practice overview tables sent in previously once more, and to complete any lacking information. They will be made available on DG SANCO website at the beginning of 2008.
On health warning labels, the Commission intends to explore, in cooperation with Member States and stakeholders, the usefulness of developing efficient common approaches throughout the Community to provide adequate consumer information. This exercise is of particular importance now that some Member States are planning to introduce warning labels. The Commission will continue to monitor developments in member sates and discussions will continue at the next meeting of the Committee.
The Slovenian Committee member summarised the preparations for the European Alcohol Policy Conference which will take place in Barcelona on 2-5 April 2008.
The Italian and German Committee members made detailed presentations on alcohol policy developments in their countries.
The WHO representative reported on ongoing activities within WHO focusing in particular on the development of a tool for collecting data on alcohol consumption, harm and policies.
