ECPC along with other members of the EU Health Policy Forum called on European governments to protect the health and well-being of EU citizens and patients rather than cutting health and social budgets during the current economic crisis.

EU Heads of state and government held their Summit in Brussels on 19 March. ECPC is among the members of the EU Health Policy Forum who drafted and signed the open letter. In a recent Financial Times article Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou was interviewed on the same subject. The Commissioner is quoted as saying “One of my fears is that health inequalities between and within countries will become even more obvious in the next two years because of the crisis.”

The aim of the Health Policy Forum is to bring together umbrella organisations representing stakeholders in the health sector to ensure that the EU`s health strategy is open, transparent and responds to the public concerns. The intention is to provide an opportunity to organise consultations, to exchange views and experience on a wide range of topics, and to assist in implementation and follow-up of specific initiatives.

The EU Health Policy Forum is, as agreed in the response of the Commission to the public consultation on the creation of the forum in early 2001, part of a structure additionally consisting of the Open Forum. The EU Health Policy Forum currently has 49 member organisations.

Read more about the EU Health Policy Forum