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ne wsanalysis Parliament takes action against former MEP Den Dover Parliamentary bosses have started proceedings to recover money owed by Den Dover, the disgraced former UK Conservative MEP, it has emerged. Dover was ordered by the court of first instance to repay 610,000 to parliament which he had wrongly claimed in parliamentary allowances. But nearly six months after the court ruling, a parliament spokesman told this Magazine that the money had still not been repaid. He said the assembly had now instigated measures to recover the money. This is thought to include docking the money from parliamentary allowances to which Dover is still legally entitled. We will be doing everything in our power to ensure these monies are repaid as soon as possible, said the spokesman. Dover denied any wrongdoing and filed a case at the European court of justice appealing against parliaments demand to have the money repaid. He also asked for interim measures to stop any court action against him. The former deputy asked that repayment be suspended, in the light of the serious and irreparable harm that he would suffer if he were required to repay the sum. Dover was expelled from the Tories last year over his allowance claims. The case has been referred to Olaf, the EUs anti-fraud agency although it is unclear what, if any, action it will take. He stood down before the June elections but remains entitled to a full pension worth nearly 40,000 a year and continues to collect his full salary for another six months as a retiring MEP. ALDE deputy Chris Davies has previously called for legal action to be taken against Dover to recover the money. Criticising parliament for failing to pursue the matter with sufficient vigour, he said, If action is finally being taken to recover what, after all, is taxpayers money, then that, of course, is to be welcomed. But you have to ask why it has taken Den Dover was expelled from the Conservatives in November so long. Dover was unavailable for comment. Rejection of Lisbon not an option for Ireland Irish MEPs backing a Yes vote in next months ref- erendum on the Lisbon treaty have said that the country could sink without trace if it is rejected again. The cross-party group of MEPs warned that another No vote on 2 October was simply not an option. Neither Ireland nor Europe can afford the polit- ical turmoil that rejection ALDE MEP Marian Harkin has warned of the Lisbon treaty would that a second No vote would have lead to, said Socialist MEP serious repercussions for Ireland Proinsias De Rossa. He added, A Yes vote is critical because we urgently need Europe to end the last decade of navel gazing and get stuck in to tackling the jobs and financial crisis, the climate change, global poverty and homeless crisis. In sentiments echoed by her fellow members, Marian Harkin said that without Lisbon and with a Conservative government likely to be elected in the UK general election, Ireland will become an island behind an island off the coast of Europe. Asked how fellow MEPs would react if Irish citizens reject the treaty for a second time, she said responses would be likely to range from disbelief to at best incomprehension, at worst down- right hostility. EPP member Seán Kelly said if the treaty was scuttled, Ireland would inevitably lose its status in the EU and would be left punching well below its weight. Were in the EU on a voluntary basis, he said. Lisbon has been negotiated by 27 countries on a voluntary basis. Ireland played a leading part in that. From a population point of view, there are 500 million people in the EU, we have four million. If 496 ratify it and four stop it completely then obviously youre going to lose influence and friends and status. According to EPP deputy Mairead McGuinness, MEPs must work to engage people unsure about how they will vote. She said, Theres no point in speaking to people who have decided they are voting No. And Im glad when people come up and tell me theyre voting Yes and then move away. We need to focus on those who dont know. There are a lot of people who dont know. And they want to be persuaded. 21 September 2009 PARLIAMENT MAGAZINE 19 Issue 294 21 September 2009 Every recession leads to an increase in poverty and puts a strain on the social system Health in crisis? Androulla Vassiliou on the common values of EU healthcare, managing patient demand and why a healthy workforce is key to economic recovery Inside: Gastein European hea Tuesday 3 November 2009 The Stanhope, Brussels Congratulations to our shortlisted MEPs Voting is now open to all MEPs until Friday 16th October. To vote, please visit www.theparliament.com/m Agriculture Economic and Monetary Affiairs Kartika Tamara Liotard Neil Parish Agnes Schierhuber Goran Färm Pe Development Energy Eugenijus Gentvilas Gabor Harangozo Filip Kaczmarek Claude Turmes Eija-Riitta Korhola Alyn Smith Environment Research and Innovation Matthias Groote Peter Liese Amalia Sartori Pia Elda Locatelli David Hammerstein-Mintz Paul Rübig Health Trade John Bowis Françoise Grossetête Alojz Issue 294 21 September 2009 newsanalysis 6 The health of the nation Barack Obama is pushing for radical reforms to the US healthcare system but for Republicans its a bitter pill to swal- low, reports Brian Beary policyfocus GASTEIN HEALTH FORUM 34 Health in crisis? The economic downturn will have a catherinestihler Editorial team Managing editor Brian Johnson Martin Banks Martha Moss Francesca Ross Louise Tait International Press Centre Boulevard Charlemagne 1 Box 2 Brussels 1041 Tel +32 (0)2 285 0828 newsdesktheparliament. www.theparliament.com Editorial board Editor Catherine Stihler MEP Edi US HEALTHCARE REFORM Barack Obama addresses a joint session of congress on healthcare in Washington The health of the nation Barack Obama is pushing for radical reforms to the US healthcare system, but for Republicans its a bitter pill to swallow, reports Brian Beary ith healthcare costs soaring wor n ewsanalysis Both the House of Representatives and Senate are due to vote on bills this autumn, after which their drafts will need to be reconciled, with the president having to sign off on the final version. A done deal then? Far from it. The August recess was dominated by town hall meet- ings whe Green Streets Totally transport e all know our towns and cities are becom- ing increasingly clogged by traffic. But what are the solutions and, particularly relevant in an economic downturn, how do we pay for them? These were the questions posed at the two-day Green Streets conference organised by t newsanalysis Bonar, said that light railway transit systems could be the way forward as they are greener than buses and cars in terms of greenhouse gases and do not emit particulates. She told the conference that recent examples of the polluter pays principle in England had shown that car drivers in Green Streets In these economically difficult times, every last euro has to be accounted for. Even so, this should not detract from what I see as one of our key aims, which is to find ways of moving people around our towns and cities as efficiently as possible Mary Bonar One of the keynote speakers, newsanalysis Education and communication are much more effective in the short-term to reach significant results in our clogged city centres Means to ensure such a reality should include putting a fair price on using the roads. This could be offset against putting a price on merely owning a car, whic INFLUENZA PANDEMIC: HELP THE RED CROSS SUPPORT EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THE WORLD TO BE PREPARED www.bestdefence.org influenza.committeeifr newsanalysis A major asset ecent enlargements have added enormously to the cultural heritage as well as human resources of the EU. Part of this is the linguistic diversity of the EU, now boasting 23 official languages and over 60 more spoken in specific regions or by specific groups. Globalisation a Supporting multilingualism To support multilingualism, its essential you explore the issues it presents in terms of culture, immigration, education and employment, writes Christine Nuttall, Director of Communications and Stakeholder Relations at the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations. M ulti MEP Hannu Takkula addressing the crowd at last years event Supporting multilingualism through language assessment at the European Parliament What is BULATS? Language skills are essential to any company working in todays global economy. The Business Language Testing Service (BULATS) is designed to te European day of languages Parlez-vous football? Arsenal football club will be taking part in the European day of languages with events, training sessions and online fun for football-mad budding linguists, says Julie Stoker in Bier, bitte. Posso avere un gelato, per favore? Je taime. Gracias. We are The major European breakthroughs in understanding biological ageing. Strategic meeting : whats beyond ? INVITATION TO EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT MEMBERS Brussels, April 19-20 2010 The current rapid graying of the European population tremendously impacts upon the socio-economic and political worlds. The EC- parliament NEWS Barroso reappointed as EU commission president José Manuel Barroso was reappointed as commission president for a second five-year term last week. The former Portuguese prime minister was awarded a second term as head of the EUs executive body after MEPs in Strasbourg endorsed him by ne wsanalysis Parliament takes action against former MEP Den Dover Parliamentary bosses have started proceedings to recover money owed by Den Dover, the disgraced former UK Conservative MEP, it has emerged. Dover was ordered by the court of first instance to repay 610,000 to parliament which he had congresses education patient consensus knowledge ECCOs Mission Through its 24 Member Organisations spanning the entire oncology spectrum from basic, applied and translational research to practice, treatment, care, prevention and advocacy ECCO represents and serves the interests of over 50,000 prof newsanalysis A veneer of democracy N Ukip member and would-be leader, Nikki Sinclaire talks to Francesca Ross about money, EU membership and Margaret Thatcher to the party principles, she says. If you had to label me then it would be old Ukip. Sinclaire explains, That doesnt mean I am backward looki The Equity Channel is an online action centre, supported by an International Collaboration including the WHO, Business in the Community and the Department of Health for England. It brings together people and groups who are interested in improving health equity by working to address the social determ newsanalysis The EU has an anthem, two parliaments, its own police force and is on its way to having its own army and a president those are the trappings of state aren t they? recalls, and I told her I was going to be a candidate for Ukip. She said good for you, good for you and never give up. I wo Regional policy First time for everything Danuta Hübner is proud of what she achieved as commissioner and plans to continue her contribution to the regional policy debate in parliament ity to develop a policy that enables all regions to fully mobilise their potential, compete effectively and promote www.worldfuturecouncil. Green Books 2009 256 pages Paperback 14,95 ISBN 978-1-900322-49-2 Heres the book weve been waiting for, a thorough, up-to-date, and above all proportionate response to our climatic predicament. When I say proportionate, I mean: it tells us how to solve the problem we really Network security Networking for success D Talk together, progress together EU policymakers, legal experts and academics came together in Crete to discuss privacy and trust in a networked world. Louise Tait was there benefits of a rapidly expanding information society. But this comes with a warning: newsanalysis Da Silva, to provide the figures: 500m already on the table, a further 500m on the cards. We know that the internet has grown at almost breakneck speed for personal and professional use. But for those who need to be convinced, Da Silva, the commissions head of con- verged networks and s China-EU relations The walls of China O China-EU relations are not always plain sailing, but Beijing and Brussels have a lot to gain from strengthened ties, writes Song Zhe per cent. The average income of the workforce also increased more than 100 times, while the number of people in absolute povert newsanalysis orously. A social security system was set up and gradually became more solid and peoples quality of life and well-being has continuously improved. Over the past 60 years, the Chinese Communist Party has relied on coop- eration and political consultation to fully mobilise, inspire and un Diabetes Its in the blood An upcoming conference will hear evidence of a global epidemic of diabetes among women. Martin Banks reports D iabetes is one of the leading causes of death globally. But the latest evidence shows that it is a particular problem for women in both high and low-income countri CROATIAN NURSING TODAY roatia is a country with a population of 4.4 million and with a social health insurance system. Since independence in 1990, Croatia went through changes to their political, economic and legal systems which have faced many challenges and difficulties. The health care system has GIRP ensuring patient safety and access to medicines The invisible, but vital link in healthcare G IRP is the umbrella organisation of pharmaceutical full-line wholesalers in Europe. In performing a public service role, full-line wholesalers guarantee the highest levels of safety, quality, integrity features then it should be remembered that one of the most effective ways to detect counterfeit medicines is by checking the authenticity of the products at the point of dispensing, in addition to providing the possibility for verifying their identity throughout the supply chain (including medicine Gastein Health Forum Health in crisis? The economic downturn will have a mixed impact on physical health, writes Androulla Vassiliou T he extraordinarily challenging economic downturn started with financial markets and subsequently expanded to the global economy. Even though the financial markets ar policyfocus Every recession leads to an increase in poverty and puts a strain on the social system to catch up with growing demand in times of budgetary limitations As far as general health systems are concerned, the sector is facing immense budgetary pressures. The drop in many countries GDP reduce The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) With 5,400 members in 114 countries ESHRE is the only umbrella organisation representing embryologists, geneticists, stem cell scientists, ethics and law specialists, basic scientists, nurses and technicians. ESHRE engages in medical policyfocus In times of economic change people tend to indulge in health-threatening behaviours such as excessive drinking, smoking or unhealthy eating habits smoking or unhealthy eating habits. Efforts to fight these habits must consequently be reinforced and it would be fatal to suggest that we ha Advertorial How can we sustain advances in health protection? Targeted action can prevent ill health and control antibiotic resistance at the same time Imagine becoming infected by a pathogenic microbe resistant to one or more of the widely-used antibiotics. Resistance develops because bacteria adap policyfocus Stabilising the system period of economic crisis and the accompany- ing high unemployment figures has a negative impact on the premium income of health insur- ance. Nevertheless, for my country, the welfare state includes the joint healthcare system, and is a considerable stabilising fac Gastein Health Forum What price health? Shou-Hsia Cheng sets out what Taiwan is doing to ensure people have access to basic healthcare despite the recession T Shou-Hsia Cheng is deputy health minster at Taiwans department of health he economic tsunami has severely impacted upon the economies of the EpiGenChlamydia Consortium Chlamydia infections: world leading cause of blindness and tubal pathology he EpiGenChlamydia Consortium is funded by the EU Framework Programme 6 under the Co-ordination Actions in functional genomics research for a period of 30 months (July 2007 December 2009). The main THE EU SALT INDUSTRY AS A RESPONSIBLE STAKEHOLDER WITH A FOCUS ON PUBLIC HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT ublic health and care for the environment are challenges of the 21st Century. In todays society specific attention is given to both. National and international policymakers set out strategies aimed at policyfocus The right response? H Martin McKee forms part of a group of researchers who can shed some light on todays healthcare issues ow will the current financial crisis affect public health, and how should we respond? Having surveyed the literature the first point we con- sider is that the finan The Contribution of Anthroposophic Medicine to better Health in Europe A nthroposophic Medicine is a research- based holistic medical system with a European tradition spanning more than nine decade, practiced today by doctors in 20 EU member states and in more than 60 countries worldwide. Footnotes: For accurate, real-time, tailored political information Dods EU Monitoring specialises in delivering real-time and tailored monitoring to the political and decision making community. Our team of policy specialists service a wide range of multinational corporations, trade associations and interest gr Eur opea n As socia tion of Nuclea r Med i ci ne EANM is the umbrella Association The European organization of Nuclear Medicine in Europe and represents approx. 30.000 professionals working in the sector. EANM of aims by working through the fulfils its Nuclear Medicine European Institutions. The Eur policyfocus policyfocus Taking the strain Climate change will have severe implications for the health of European citizens, writes Jo Leinen T he fight against climate change dominates the inter- national agenda in the weeks before the December climate conference in Copenhagen. Apart from environmen SMEs go Health Supporting successful cooperations in FP7 SMEs go Health is an initiative designed to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and academic researchers interested in research cooperation and participation in the 7th EU Framework Programme (FP7), particularly in the Health are We match SMEs and Academia SMEs and researchers are strongly fostered in building consortia in the preparation phase of the Health Calls. SMEs go Health supports customers by two main lines of matchmaking activities: firstly, two virtual brokerage events were launched in the run-up phase of the 2nd Gastein Health Forum Food for thought Dan Jørgensen wants to see a transparent food labelling system which would enable citizens to choose a more healthy lifestyle T Dan Jørgensen is vice-chair of parliament s environment, public health and food safety committee he global economic crisis casts its l T he United European Gastroenterology Federation is a professional medical non- profit organisation comprising all of the major European societies interested in the diseases of the digestive system. Its goals are to advance science and education in digestive diseases, and to provide a suitable mediu Gastein Health Forum Survival instinct O More research is needed to determine the drivers of health inequalities, says Michael Marmot Michael Marmot is director of the international institute for society and health at University College London n his 100th birthday, so its said, one centenarian comme Nursing at the heart of patient care I n 2006 in Europe, there were an estimated 3,191,600 cancer cases diagnosed and 1,703,000 deaths from cancer. The most common form of cancer was breast cancer followed by colorectal cancers and lung cancer. Lung cancer was the most common cause of death, followe Gastein Health Forum Health literacy Raising awareness of how people can look after themselves is key to the future of European healthcare, argues Jorgo Chatzimarkakis t is a worrying figure: in a study presented by the International Association for the Study of Obesity in 2007, it was found that in Improving mental health policies in the EU - Mental Health Europes Manifesto M ental Health Europe (MHE) is an organisation committed to the promotion of positive mental health, the prevention of mental distress, the improvement of care, advocacy for social inclusion and the protection of human righ policyfocus Lessons learnt Armin Fidler says that learning from the past can maintain and protect standards of healthcare during an economic downturn T he current global financial crisis is affecting countries at all levels of income in Europe and the world. While some economists point to data in th EUROPEAN BRAIN COUNCIL T he European Brain Council (EBC) is a coordinating council formed by European organisations in neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, basic brain research, as well as patient organisations and industry. We work in close partnership with the European Commission and the European po licyfocus Image problem Peter Liese argues that a directive limiting the use of magnetic resonance imaging in the name of safety is unnecessary and counterproductive n early 2010 the European parliament and council will be sent a proposal from the European commission to amend the EU physical agen Gastein Health Forum Driving forces As an expert in emerging infectious diseases Richard Coker gives a preview of his address to the health forum merging infectious diseases represent a significant burden on national and global economies and public health. They have the potential to stress societies policyfocus A question of policy L An on-the-ground approach is needed to tackle obesity, says Joceline Pomerleau evels of obesity and inequalities in obesity are increasing throughout Europe and there is a clear need for European countries to coordinate their scientific, regulatory and policy respo Gastein Health Forum A healthy economy Debate on healthcare in Europe tends to focus on the rate at which expenditure rises, says Tresja Bolt uropeans tend to view president Barack Obamas drive for healthcare reform in the US with smug bemusement. Wasnt the battle for universal coverage won long ago policyfocus Patient progress The European health forum Gastein has more than the annual conference to its name. A recent informal meeting brought together ministers and experts on the issue of tackling rare diseases. Francesca Ross reports he yearly conference is not the only work done under the pre European Union Standards and Training for the Inspection of Tissue Establishments EUSTITE A 3 year project that has been funded by the European Union following the publication of 3 EU directives defining minimum standards of quality and safety for human tissues and cells that are applied to patients www.eustite.org Lisbon referendum Commitment to Europe Carlo Casini argues that Irelands Christian values should bring the country closer to Europe n order to appreciate the (in my opinion, decisive) importance of the imminent Irish referendum on the treaty of Lisbon, we would do well to remember a number of histor specialreport Hanging in the balance The Lisbon treaty would help Ireland and the EU tackle global crises ranging from unemployment to energy security, says Proinsias De Rossa e face many interconnected, global crises: unemployment, financial regulation, economic recovery, climate change, energy sec specialreport A nightmare scenario s Europe anxiously awaits the result of the Irish ref- erendum on 2 October, it may pass the time to reflect a little bit more on the repercussions of a second Irish No. There would be absolutely no appetite to reopen the well-thumbed treaty dossier again. The resu Lisbon referendum History in the making t is true that all eyes are on Ireland. The second refer- endum on the Lisbon treaty will be a seminal event in the history of the EU. On 2 October the Irish will not just be voting on their own future as a nation, but also as proxies for half a billion Europe HEART EU AND MEDPED JOIN FORCES TO LOWER CHOLESTEROL AND SAVE LIVES Chairman, Michael Livingston commented: We are full of excitement and ambition about what HEART EU and MEDPED can achieve together. Fighting cholesterol is all about taking expertise in medicine and policy to the next level and ens What are consumers thinking now? Aviva, the insurance group, has conducted the largest ever international survey into consumer attitudes to saving (28,000 respondents in 2009 in 28 countries and 130,000 surveyed over the last six years internationally). The first five years of the study (2004-2008)