Last updated: 11 February 2008

President’s Message

 

Dear EFN Members and Colleagues,


We are all looking forward to the initiative of the European Commission to improve the Directive on the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to biological agents.

 

It is regrettable that the employers find that the current legislation afford appropriate protection. This shows how important the Commission’s initiative is, and that only a legislative initiative can reduce the more than one million needlesticks injuries that occur in Europe each year. Even in the countries where needlesticks injuries are decreasing there are still much too many accidents.

 

I support the value of a constructive social dialogue nationally and internationally, but I believe that the social partner’s role must be limited to follow up the legislative initiative from the commission, to secure that the social partner’s role do not compromise or delay the implementation of this necessary and long awaited initiative.

 

                                               Grete Christensen

                                                    EFN President

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11 February 2008


News from EFN

 

EFN Executive Committee meeting, 25 January 2008, Brussels

The EFN Executive Committee met in Brussels, on 25 January 2008, for its first meeting of the year, and prepared the EFN General Assembly to be held in Copenhagen on 10-11 April 2008 by discussing the three EFN Committees working method and work plans for 2008. The Executive Committee also discussed on the EFN alliances with major stakeholders in the field of health and nursing, and endorsed the EFN Annual Report 2007.

Update


EU Needlesticks Injuries Consultation process
After having contributed to the first EU consultation process regarding Needlesticks Injuries in January 2007, the EFN has provided its input to the European Commission second stage consultation on the issue. The EFN agrees with the initiative of the European Commission to improve the Directive 2000/54/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, on the protection of workers from risks related to exposure to biological agents, which clearly needs improvement to address the measures required to prevent needlesticks injuries, that can be avoided with better working practices and the use of widely available appropriate technology that incorporates needle protection.

Update

News from the EU

 

Public Consultation on Information to Patients
The European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry launched a public consultation for a legal proposal on information to patients, with the objective of gathering EU stakeholders’ views on the key ideas for the forthcoming draft legal proposal aiming at ensuring that all EU citizens have access to good-quality, objective, reliable and non promotional information on prescription-only medicinal products. The deadline to answer to this consultation is 7 April 2008.


Update

EU pension initiative to support workers’ mobility
The European Commission has recently published two studies that report that supplementary pensions’ schemes are still a problem for the mobility of the workers across Europe, and support the Europe-wide initiative to improve people's access to supplementary pension rights when changing jobs or working in another EU country. Over the coming months the Commission will be working together with the Slovenian Presidency to make progress on finding agreement for an effective and proportionate directive to reduce obstacles to mobility without placing undue burdens on pension providers.

For further information, click here.


Update

Lisbon Treaty Ratification
France, Romania, Malta, Hungary and Slovenia have already successfully concluded the ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty signed by the 27 Heads of State of the EU Member States, on 13 December 2007. The ratification of the treaty is the top priority of the Slovenian EU Presidency, which believes that the majority of the EU Member States will have completed the ratification process by the end of its six-month term.

For further information, click here.