European Alcoho... / Resources / Policy Issues / EU Health Strategy / Specialised EU agencies dealing with health and related issues
Specialised EU agencies dealing with health and related issues
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)[1] was set up in Lisbon in 1993, to monitor the situation of drug use in the EU as a primary activity. Its role is to gather, analyse and disseminate ‘objective, reliable and comparable information' on drugs and drug addiction and, in doing so, provide a sound and evidence-based picture of the drug phenomenon at European level. Among the Centre's target groups are policy-makers, professionals and researchers working in the drug field and, more broadly, the European media and general public.
European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA)[2] is located in London, UK since 1995 when the European system for authorising medicinal products was introduced, providing for a centralised and a mutual recognition procedure. Where the centralised procedure is used, companies submit one single marketing authorisation application to the EMEA. A single evaluation is carried out through the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) or Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use (CVMP). If the relevant Committee concludes that quality, safety and efficacy of the medicinal product is sufficiently proven, it adopts a positive opinion. This is sent to the Commission to be transformed into a single market authorisation valid for the whole of the European Union.
The main responsibility of the Agency is the promotion of human and animal health, through the evaluation and supervision of medicines for human and veterinary use. Scientific resources from all Member States are brought together in a network of 42 national competent authorities, equalling some 3500 European experts involved in the agency's work. EMEA also cooperates closely with various global partners. In 2001, the Committee on Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) was established, charged with reviewing designation applications from persons or companies who intend to develop medicines for rare diseases (so-called ‘orphan drugs'). The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products (HMPC) was established in 2004 and provides scientific opinions on traditional herbal medicines. EMEA also has a working group with patient and consumer organizations, which was set up in 2003. Representatives from civil society are informed of EMEA's activities and provide feedback on issues of transparency, accountability and information to patients.
European Agency for Health and Safety at Work (OSHA)[3] - was set up in 1996 in Bilbao, Spain to monitor health and safety standards and working conditions within the EU. The Agency's specific task include collection and dissemination of a range of technical, scientific and economic information on health and safety at work and the promotion of information exchange between Member States which involve exchanges of national experts. The agency's mission is to make Europe's workplaces safer, healthier and more productive, and in particular to promote an effective prevention culture. The agency is to address the diversity of occupational safety and health (OSH) issues and the need for awareness at grassroots level is beyond the resources and expertise of a single Member State. The agency uses a variety of communication channels: from direct campaigning to online publications, such as the European Week for Safety and Health at Work.
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)[4] - Following a series of food scares in the 1990s (e.g. BSE, dioxins…) which undermined consumer confidence in the safety of the food chain, the European Union concluded in 2002 the need to establish, in Parma, Italy, a new scientific body charged with providing independent and objective advice on food safety issues associated with the food chain. EFSA provides independent scientific advice on all matters linked to food and feed safety - including animal health and welfare and plant protection - and provides scientific advice on nutrition in relation to Community legislation.
EFSA also has a Stakeholder Consultative Platform that meets regularly. For EFSA the term ‘stakeholder' describes an individual or group that is concerned or stands to be affected – directly or indirectly – by EFSA's work in scientific risk assessment[5]
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)[6] - was established in 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden. The ECDC was created to strengthen the EU's defence against infectious diseases, including influenza, SARS, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. The centre will focus on working in partnership with European national bodies to strengthen and develop disease surveillance and early warning systems. The idea is to pool Europe's scientific knowledge in order to develop authoritative scientific opinions on the risks of new and emerging infectious diseases.
Public Health Executive Agency (PHEA)[7] was established in 2006 in Luxembourg and has its main responsibility related to the management of the Community Programme in the field of public health[8]. The main objectives for the agency are:
- Managing all the phases of specific projects, in the context of implementing the public health programme.
- Carrying out all the operations necessary for the execution of the budget and for the management of the programme (in particular those linked to the award of contracts and grants)
- Providing logistical, scientific and technical support, in particular by organising meetings, preparatory studies, seminars and conferences.
[4]http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en.html
[5]http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/stakeholders_efsa/consultative_platform/april_2007.html