Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union
As from 1 July 2010, Belgium takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. For six months, the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) will lead the work and be responsible for ensuring that progress is made on a number of important issues regarding medicines and medical devices.
Therefore the FAMHP will work actively in network with the other European authorities so as to foster an effective and efficient European Medicines Regulatory System.
The role of the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products is to ensure the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines and health products (medical devices, blood, cells and tissues) in clinical development and on the market.
During the Belgian Presidency the FAMHP will host about twenty meetings who operate at a strategic and regulatory level as well as at a technical and scientific level. Most of these meetings are an established tradition within the European Union where representatives from Medicines and Medical Devices Agencies, the European Commission and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will participate. The meeting agenda includes several important issues such as improving the linkage between the medicines and medical devices competent authorities, clinical trials, active pharmacovigilance, illegal trade of drugs etc.
There will also be a Ministerial Conference ‘Innovation and Solidarity’ in cooperation with the European Commission. The primary goal of any health care policy should be to maximise the health of the population within the limits of the available resources, and within an ethical framework in which equity and solidarity principles are included.
A main challenge for the EU pharmaceutical policy is to pursue all objectives at the same time – increasing quality, improve access and controlling costs. The goal is to contribute to this policy by organising a high level strategic meeting where different important players are brought together to discuss the issue on how access to medicines can be improved.
We sincerely hope that all participants to our meetings have an interesting and pleasant stay. We hope to foster fruitful discussions in order to bring the EU agenda foreward.
Xavier De Cuyper
Chief Executive Officer
Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products