NICOSIA- Minister of Health Androulla Agrotou has said that the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU constituted a great challenge for both Cyprus and the Ministry of Health, adding that the results of the work that has been done show that the aim of working collectively with a view to protect and improve health standards of European citizens was achieved.
Speaking during a Monday press conference for the presentation of the results of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in the field of health, Agrotou said that during the Cyprus Presidency 43 meetings were held in Brussels to discuss issues in Working Groups as well as six trilogies (informal tripartite meetings attended by representatives of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.)
As regards the Working Group for Public Health, Agrotou said that they discussed two legislative proposals. The first one concerned the Proposal for the Regulation on the “Health and Development” Programme covering the period 2014-2020, in the framework of the new Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020
The second proposal concerned the draft decision on the serious cross-border health threats which the Commission submitted in December 2011 and refers to the protection of European citizens from a vast range of threats against health, such as biological, chemical and environmental as well as to coordinated reaction in the cases of crisis.
The Cyprus Presidency discussed the proposal during eight meetings of the Working Group for Public Health. The result was to achieve an agreement of “General Approach”, paving the way for the next Presidency to proceed with the trilogies