Question by Nessa Childers (S&D) on the new powers of the EU to address public health, in particular alcohol misuse

Following the recent ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, can the Commission outline the new powers of the European Union to address public health, in particular alcohol misuse, in relation to the Lisbon Treaty, with particular reference to Article 152?

Answer given by Ms Vassiliou on behalf of the Commission

The Lisbon Treaty does indeed include reference to measures which have as their direct objective the protection of public health regarding the abuse of alcohol.

This is the first time that such an explicit reference is made within the Treaty. In doing so, it aims at strengthening the responsibility at European Union level to address these problems.

The reference comes in recognition of the prevalence of alcohol related harm across the EU.

The harmful consumption of alcohol is now considered to account for nearly 200,000 deaths across the region. For young men aged 15-29, alcohol is estimated to be involved in a quarter of all deaths.

The EU adopted its first Alcohol Strategy in 2006. More recently, the Council has adopted Conclusions that encourage the Commission to explore priorities in relation to alcohol and public health beyond the life of the existing strategy, from 2013.

It will be important to take stock of progress so far in the implementation of the Strategy, whether there is evidence that health status is improving, whether new actions are needed, and what these should be. In defining the scope of future actions, the Commission will consider their likely public health impact, the extent to which they are proportional to the issue being addressed and their legal basis as defined by the current Treaty.