Health and consumer protection programmesFostering better and safer healthcare in EU countries, promoting good health and preventing diseases, protecting consumers’ rights: these are some of the targets set by the Commission, contained in the Health for Growth Programme and the Consumer Programme presented November 9, part of the 2014-2020 budget. “The two programmes aim to foster a Europe of healthy, active, informed and empowered citizens, who can contribute to economic growth”, states the Executive. The proposals will now be discussed by the European Parliament and Council of Ministers to allow for the start of the new health and consumer programmes in 2014 with a budget of 446 million for the Health for Growth Programme and 197 million for the Consumer Programme. Commissioner John Dalli explained: “These two programmes are about people; about fostering the conditions for people to live to their full potential and play a key role in society and in the economy. Keeping people healthy and active for longer is good for people and is good for jobs and growth. Confident, empowered consumers create thriving markets”. The “Health for Growth” programme has four main goals, namely “Developing innovative and sustainable health systems; Increasing access to better and safer healthcare for citizens; Promoting health and preventing disease; and protecting citizens from cross-border health threats”. The objective of the “Consumers Programme” is to place consumers at the centre of the Single Market particularly by: “Enhancing product safety through effective market surveillance; “improving consumers’ information, education and awareness of their rights; consolidating consumer rights and strengthening effective redress, especially through alternative dispute resolution. The two programs are marked by concrete elements aimed at stepping up cooperation on rare diseases at European level and promoting cancer prevention “through EU-wide screening guidelines to improve early detection”. The programme also aims at improving legislation and citizens’ and families’ purchases and consumption rights.The new Centre for Media PluralismThe EU Commission will set up a “Centre for Media Pluralism” whose purpose is “to ensure a highly diverse and free media” in Europe with a 600 000 grant. The Centre will be established in Florence, at the European Institute University’s (EUI) Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies. Activities are scheduled to begin the first week of December. Announcing the new centre, the vice-President of the EU Commission Neelie Kroes said: “”Freedom of expression depends in part on a diverse and free media”. The new centre “has an important job to do developing and testing ideas on media pluralism and freedom that can enrich public debate and policy”. The Centre will carry out four specific activities: theoretical and applied research (working paper series, policy studies, observatory on media pluralism), debates, education and training activities (academic seminars, summer school) and dissemination of results and outcomes”. According to Kroes, “This initiative is a further step in the Commission’s ongoing commitment to improve the protection of media pluralism and media freedom in Europe and establish whether further action needs to be taken at European or national and regional level”. The Commission is also in the process of establishing a multi-stakeholder group on the future of the media, chaired by Vaira Vike-Freiberga.Sport: stop to violence, improving organizationThe European Commission has awarded grants “to support initiatives aimed at tackling violence and intolerance in sport, and to strengthen the way sport is run” in Europe. The Executive’s initiative falls within the Treaty’s provisions that call upon the EU “to support, supplement and coordinate actions by the Member States and to develop a European dimension in sport”. 12 trans-national projects have received grants ranging from 125 000 to 200 000 “as part of a package of ‘preparatory actions’ intended to pave the way for the launch of an EU sub-programme for sport, which would also support grassroots campaigns to promote physical activity, social inclusion through sport, and the fight against doping”, Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou explained. The EU support covers two themes: prevention of and fight against violence and intolerance in sport; promoting innovative approaches to strengthen the organisation of sport in Europe.
