25 Danish nursing students visit the EFN (01/02/2012)
On 30 January 2012, 25 nursing students from Denmark came to the EFN Brussels office in order to gain a better understanding of how the nurses’ voice is heard at EU level. The nursing students were briefed on the EFN’s activities and main priorities and showed a remarkable interest in understanding the process of the modernisation of the Directive on mutual recognition of professional qualifications and the role of the EFN in this regard. Particular attention was paid to the minimum educational requirements that ensure the automatic recognition process for nurses and how they were established as the nursing students expressed their opinion on having the nursing education upgraded. Further demonstrating their interest, the nursing students had a meeting the next day with Andras Mogyoro of DG Internal Market who was extremely impressed with their level of engagement. The EFN, who also met DG Internal Market that day, was extremely pleased to hear how the Danish nursing students impressed the Commission with their active involvement and advocacy for strengthening the quality of the nursing education.
EFN Executive Committee meeting, 18 January 2012, Brussels (19/01/2012)
The EFN Executive Committee met on 18 January 2012, in the EFN Brussels Office, for its first meeting of the year, to discuss key issues for the EFN and its lobby work at EU level, such as: DIR36; the Patient’s Rights in Cross-border Healthcare Directive and the Nursing Sensitive Criteria for selecting “Centres for Excellence”; EU Workforce for Health; the European Nursing Research Network; and the EFN Internal Regulation to be voted on at the General Assembly in Slovenia, in April 2012. Very interesting discussions took place with DG Internal Market on the proposal for the modernisation of DIR36 and with DG Sanco on the EU’s upcoming Action Plan on Workforce for Health. Mary Gobbi from the University of Southampton was also invited to say a few words about the Feasibility Study on the European Skills Council for Nurses. Finally, the Executive Committee was briefed on budgetary matters, and approved the 2011 EFN Activity Report. The next EFN Executive Committee meeting will be held in June 2012.
EFN hosts EU Nurses Focus Group for Chain of Trust Project (18/01/2012)
On 17 January, an EU Nurses Focus Group was held at the EFN’s Brussels office in the context of the EU’s Chain of Trust (CoT) project. As the CoT project aims to assess the perspective of the main end users (patients, pharmacists, doctors and nurses) of telehealth services across the EU, the role of the EU Nurses Focus Group was to complement the information gathered so far with national experiences and policy strategies, and moreover to discuss and agree on a set of political recommendations for an effective and wider implementation of telehealth. The EU Nurses Focus Group, which included nursing policy decision makers, experts and scientists, presented and discussed the CoT’s main deliverables from the nurses’ perspective. The group also exchanged views on national strategies on eHealth and the state of play on telehealth services at national and regional level to set the scene on how the political recommendations will be taken forward from an European and national dimension.
EU Joint Action on Health Workforce Planning
The EU’s Joint Action on Health Workforce Planning, set to begin at the end of 2012, is now in its final stages of negotiation. On 11 January 2012, the work packages were presented to potential partners at a plenary meeting. The EFN, who has been closely following the negotiations with the leaders, noticed a positive change in mind-set towards more inclusiveness and broader collaboration with Eastern European countries, which will bring crucial input from receiving and donor countries to provide the right balance with regards to health workforce patterns. The EFN will now continue its negotiations with the Joint Action leaders on the EFN’s level of engagement in the individual work packages. The Commission’s Action Plan on EU Health Workforce, which is expected to be released this year, will hopefully give an account of how the Commission can support national governments in developing strong policies with common objectives on the EU’s health workforce. The EFN will be working closely with DG Sanco in the coming months to make sure that the health workforce issues which affect millions of nurses everyday are properly reflected in the Action Plan. The importance of offering concrete proposals and measures that can be translated into real change for nurses and other health professionals around Europe will be the EFN’s main concern.
Proposal on the modernisation of Directive 36
The modernised proposal for the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications was published by the European Commission’s DG Internal Market last 19 December 2011. The Commission expects to adopt this piece of legislation by the end of 2012 as a key strategy to boost economic growth through enhanced mobility of professionals around Europe on the 20th Anniversary of the Single Market Act. The Commission proposal was first discussed in the European Parliament IMCO Committee on 9 January 2012. MEP Emma McCLARKIN (UK) will be the rapporteur of the proposal, followed by shadow MEPs; specifically, Bernadette VERGNAUD (FR), Emilie TURUNEN (DK), Constance LE GRIP (FR), and Cristian Silviu BUŞOI (RO). Overall, there is support from MEPs for the proposal although the nursing entry requirement level from 10 to 12 years is a main political concern for the German MEPs. The deadline for tabling amendments to the proposal is 12 July 2012.
The EFN welcomes the Danish Presidency 2012
The EFN would like to welcome the Danish Presidency. The official Danish Presidency website has now been launched, where the main priorities are outlined for a responsible Europe, a dynamic Europe, a green Europe and a safe Europe. Many of the issues that will be dealt with during the Presidency are already included in the EU’s legislative agenda: the economic situation, the EU’s long-term budget, climate, the environment, energy, and justice and home affairs. For the EFN, the following topics will be of particular importance: Negotiations on the multiannual financial framework (MFF) for the EU in the period 2014-2020; Horizon 2020; the EU’s Health for Growth Programme and Cohesion Policy; the 20th anniversary of the Single Market and the modernisation of the Professional Qualifications Directive; implementation and follow-up of activities on ageing and innovation; the Joint Action and EU Action Plan on Health Workforce Planning; and the upcoming Joint Action on Quality and Safety in which Denmark is a work package leader focusing on identification of good practices. In addition to this, the Danish Presidency will host a High Level eHealth Conference in Copenhagen on 7-9 May which will focus on continuity of care and how new technologies can help in providing integrated care to EU citizens.
Merry Christmas!
The EFN would like to wish you a happy Christmas and all the best for 2012!
As has been done in previous years, in lieu of sending Christmas cards, the EFN has made a donation to the Girl Child Education Fund of the International Council of Nurses, which supports the primary and secondary schooling of the orphaned daughters of nurses in developing countries. To find out more about the Girl Child Education Fund, click here
Vice-President Neelie Kroes’ New Year’s message
On 21 December 2011, Vice-President of the Commission Neelie Kroes posted a New Year’s message highlighting her thoughts and ambitions for the future of the EU’s Digital Agenda. Expressing her hope for the future, Commissioner Kroes said that the application of new technologies can improve lives, and made particular reference to software used to train rural nurses as an example of ICT giving people the tools to change their lives for the better. She stressed the importance of making the most of the Single Market and using ICT to overcome issues, develop and build future growth. Finally, she declared her wish to deliver real innovation for the health and social care sector; an objective which the EFN welcomes!
