EU newsflash: new EU leaders
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Spotlight on the health policy of the European Union
Health care is, understandably, a matter of primary concern for citizens. While the Member States hold primary responsibility for organising and delivering health services and medical care, the EU health policy serves to ensure that health protection is taken into account in all EU policies. Moreover, it complements and supports the efforts of the Member States by ensuring the accessibility, effectiveness and resilience of their health systems and by creating and exploiting synergies at European level.
To achieve these objectives, the EU has adopted legislation and has addressed recommendations in a range of important health-related domains with the end goal of protecting and improving the health of Europe’s citizens. These domains include, among others, cross-border healthcare and health threats such as dropping vaccination rates, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, tobacco, obesity, organs, blood and tissues.
Find out more about the health policy of the European Union in this month’s newsletter, along with some of the most interesting EU publications on other topics, including research.
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State of health in the EU cycle
This publication offers a comparative analysis of the health status of EU citizens and the performance of the health systems of the 28 EU Member States, five candidate countries and three European Free Trade Association countries. Moreover, it discusses the progress made in improving the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of European health systems. Thus, it is the first step in the ‘State of Health in the EU’ cycle of knowledge brokering.
Available in English |
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Easier access to healthcare for EU citizens anywhere in the EU
Cross-border healthcare enables patients to seek medical services across the EU and helps citizens find relevant information more easily in other EU countries. This factsheet presents numerous EU projects on the concept of seamless cross-border healthcare provision.
Available in all the official languages of the EU |
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European added value in action - Study
This study provides a non-exhaustive overview of the added value achieved so far through European Union action in the field of health policy. It covers the benefits of EU action in the following sectors: the EU Health Programme, cross-border healthcare, pharmaceuticals regulation, medical devices, and prevention and vaccination. It also provides a brief overview of the EU legal framework, policy tools and best practices in each area.
Available in English |
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More on this topic |
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Trends and developments
The European drug report presents a top-level overview of the drug phenomenon in Europe, covering drug supply and use, and public health problems as well as drug policy and responses. This year’s report arrives at a critical time for reflection on drug policy developments, since next year will see the final evaluation of the current EU drugs strategy (2013-2020).
Available in all the official languages of the EU except Irish and Maltese; also in Norwegian and Turkish. |
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Report of the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in Health (EXPH)
Vaccination is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions available and the main tool for primary prevention of communicable diseases. However, the EU is facing increasing outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, while some fatal cases of measles and diphtheria have been reported. This report identifies the main factors (enablers and obstacles) influencing vaccination uptake and assesses measures that can be expected to improve vaccination coverage.
Available in English |
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Workshop proceedings — Study
This report summarises the presentations and discussions of a workshop on the use of robots and artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare, held at the European Parliament in Brussels in February 2019. The aim of the workshop was to provide background information and advice on the status and prospects of applying robotic and AI-based technologies in healthcare. The first part of the workshop focused on the practical application of AI and robots in healthcare, while the second part examined the ethical implications and responsibilities of AI and robotic-based technologies in healthcare.
Available in English |
Research and innovation |
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CORDIS Results Pack on the brain
As the world continues to be remodelled by the digital revolution, we are seeing digital technologies embed themselves firmly into all aspects of our lives, including into the mainstream of neurosciences research to help unravel the complexity of brain disorders. This cross-cutting CORDIS Results Pack highlights innovative projects from across the full spectrum of EU-funded research programmes that are helping science make sense of arguably the most complex and mysterious machine in existence — the human brain.
Available in English
(Individual article also available in French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish on the CORDIS website)
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Also out recently |
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Update May 2019 - Study
This is the latest edition of the review of European and national elections offering a comprehensive and detailed overview on the composition of the European Parliament and the national elections in all EU Member States. It also offers a historical overview on the nearly 40 years of direct elections to the European Parliament since 1979. The wealth of data included makes it an invaluable source of information on the composition and development of the European Parliament and its political groups.
Available in English |
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This report is a contribution to support policy- and decision-makers as they navigate the world into 2030. How do we save the planet? How do we improve ageing? How do we manage new technologies? These among many other key uncertainties that will shape Europe’s future are explored in this publication.
Available in English |
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2018 edition
This handbook is designed to familiarise legal practitioners not specialised in data protection with this emerging area of the law. It provides an overview of the applicable EU legal frameworks. It also explains key case-law, summarising major rulings of both the Court of Justice of the European Union and the European Court of Human Rights. In addition, it presents hypothetical scenarios that serve as practical illustrations of the diverse issues encountered in this ever-evolving field.
Available in English, French, German and Italian |
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The 2018 Annual Report of Eurojust, the EU’s Judicial Cooperation Unit, demonstrates the practical support to judicial authorities while dealing with cases of serious organised crime. It contains many concrete examples of the more than 6 500 cases that Eurojust dealt with during the year, including investigations of organised crime, terrorism, migrant smuggling, trafficking in human beings, cybercrime and financial crime.
Available in English
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Juridicial analysis
International and European legal standards have established a clear presumption against the detention of applicants for international protection by outlining permissible grounds, procedural safeguards and conditions of detention. This analysis, developed under the auspices of the European Asylum Support Office offers a tool for decision-making and training on this topic. It aims to answer key questions such as: who is an applicant for international protection, what the legal grounds for detention are and what safeguards for the applicants exist. Moreover, it presents alternative measures to detention.
Available in English |
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Zooming in on EU diplomacy
This publication is the outcome of an open call for photos launched by the European External Action Service in November 2018. The objective was to gather photos, taken by EU staff in delegations, missions and operations, showcasing the EU’s action in countries throughout the world. It is a pleasant opportunity to zoom in on the diversity of the work accomplished by EU personnel and to give you a sample of what the EU believes and stands for.
Available in English |
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Conference outcomes
On 24 October 2018, the Publications Office of the European Union organised the conference ‘The Future of Publishing’ in Luxembourg. Thought-provoking presentations and discussions took place during its course, regarding the latest developments and challenges in the fields of information management and publishing. These should be of interest to anyone involved in publishing and communication and particularly to EU officials serving the citizens of Europe and the European project.
Therefore, the publication ‘The future of publishing — Conference outcomes’ has been produced as a follow-up to the event. It presents an overview of the key takeaway points from ‘The Future of Publishing’ along with a summary of each speaker’s presentation.
Available in English
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