05 December 2007
News from the EU
“Healthcare 2015: Win-win or lose-lose?”
The IBM Institute for Business Value published a report entitled “Healthcare 2015: Win-win or lose-lose?” which explains that the Healthcare systems around the world will become unsustainable by 2015, unless governments adopt new accountability standards on how the money is being spent. The report urges for more accountability in public healthcare, underline the need for governments to provide incentives for preventive care and for citizens to take responsibility for their own health, and provide detailed recommendations for the healthcare stakeholders to follow.
Lisbon Objectives in Education and Training Progresses
The European Commission published its annual report on the progresses made towards the Lisbon objectives on education and training, which explains that there is insufficient progresses made in Europe’s education and training systems towards the goals set in the Lisbon strategy for more jobs and growth. The report also mentions that the EU Member States are not making sufficient efforts to encourage life-long learning in order to meet the ‘Lisbon Strategy’ targets.
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A modern single market for all
A package of initiatives aiming to modernise the European single market and to bring more benefits to the European citizens has been published by the European Commission. Among the most important policy actions set out by the Commission are initiatives that will: help consumers to exercise their contractual rights and get redress across borders; provide better information for consumers; introduce a “researcher passport”; clarify how EU rules apply to services and social services of general interest; and promote the quality of social services across the EU.
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Register of Lobbyists
On 21 March 2007, the European Commission decided to set up a public register for all interest representatives working to influence decisions taken in EU institutions. The European Commission Vice-President, Siim Kallas, recently announced that the Commission intends to proceed with the establishment of its own register, which intends to be on voluntary basis and should start on March 2008 as part of the implementation of the EU Transparency Initiative.
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Stakeholders 'key' to bringing EU policy debates to national level
On 8 November 2007, the European media ‘Euractiv’ organised a meeting where participants discussed the ways of reaching out the EU citizens via national stakeholders such as NGOs. In view of the global challenges the EU is currently facing, cooperation and effective communication of the EU Member States, stakeholders and citizens, is more important than ever. The Slovakian MEP, Mr. Miroslav Mikolasik, stated that “It is desirable that EU legislation, directives and policies are translated into simple and clear language that is close to the European citizens.”
For further information, click here.