8.7.2011   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 202/4

1.

RECALLS that under Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Union action is to complement national policies and be directed towards improving public health by covering in particular the fight against the major health scourges; it is also to encourage cooperation between the Member States in the field of public health and, if necessary, lend support to their action, and respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care;

2.

RECALLS that under Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Member States, in liaison with the Commission, are to coordinate among themselves their policies and programmes;

3.

RECALLS Decision No 2119/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 September 1998 setting up a network for the epidemiological surveillance and control of communicable diseases in the Community (1), which requires timely scientific analysis in order for effective Community action to be undertaken;

4.

RECALLS Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 establishing a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2), which supports existing activities, such as relevant Community action programmes in the public health sector, with regard to the prevention and control of communicable diseases, epidemiological surveillance, training programmes and early warning and response mechanisms, and should foster the exchange of best practices and experience with regard to vaccination programmes;

5.

RECOGNISES that while childhood immunisation is the responsibility of individual Member States and various vaccination schemes exist in the EU as regards their professional content, their mandatory or voluntary character or their financing, there is added value in addressing this issue at a European level;

6.

RECOGNISES that possible joint efforts to improve childhood vaccination may also benefit from improved synergies with other EU policy areas with special regard to vulnerable groups, for example the Roma in certain Member States;

7.

WELCOMES the outcomes of the expert level conference ‘For a Healthy Future of Our Children — Childhood Immunisation’, held in Budapest on 3-4 March 2011, where participants examined successes and challenges of childhood immunisation in the European Union and underlined the need to achieve and maintain timely, high childhood immunisation coverage in both general and under-vaccinated populations; having quality data for monitoring coverage and surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases at sub-national, national and EU levels; and co-ordinating and refining communication strategies to target under-vaccinated population groups or those who are sceptical about the benefits of vaccination;

8.

NOTES that while childhood immunisation programmes have been instrumental in controlling infectious diseases in Europe, many challenges still remain;

9.

RECALLS that the most effective and economical way of preventing infectious diseases is through vaccination, where vaccination exists;

10.

NOTES that increasing mobility and migration raise a number of health related questions, which are also relevant for childhood immunisation;

11.

UNDERLINES that vaccines have led to the control, lower incidence and even elimination of diseases in Europe that in the past caused death and disability for millions of people, and that the global eradication of smallpox and the elimination of poliomyelitis from most countries in the world are excellent examples of successful vaccination programmes;

12.

NOTES that measles and rubella epidemics continue to occur in several European countries and UNDERLINES that Europe failed to meet the goal of eliminating measles and rubella by 2010, because of lower-than-required vaccination coverage prevailing at sub-national levels, and therefore RECALLS the resolution of the World Health Organisation (WHO) of 16 September 2010 on renewed commitment to the elimination of measles and rubella and prevention of congenital rubella syndrome by 2015 and sustained support for polio-free status in the WHO European Region;

13.

UNDERLINES the importance of identifying and addressing population groups at increased risk of vaccine-preventable diseases and at the same time NOTES the significance of the fact that susceptible populations differ from one country or region to another;

14.

INVITES Member States to:

15.

INVITES Member States and the Commission to:

16.

INVITES the Commission to: