European Network for Patient Safety (EUNetPaS)

The EFN participated in the EUNetPaS project final conference held in Brussels, on 1-2 July 2010, which brought together the project partners, the representatives from the health ministries of the 27 EU Member States participating in the project, representatives from the European Commission, as well as from WHO and the OECD. The project leaders presented the outcomes of the work conducted during the last 30 months as well as the development of the EUNetPaS network, focussing on the main international initiatives in the field of Patient Safety. The EFN also participated in the panel discussion on ‘Views and Contributions of Civil Society on Patient Safety Developments in the EU’, aiming to bring together representatives from multiple EU-level stakeholders. The EFN General Secretary took this opportunity to highlight the EFN key lobby priorities (DIR36, Workforce, Quality & Safety) and to mention that an optimal stakeholder approach would lead to effective policies to be implemented there where nurses work and live out their life. To make implementation possible, more attention needs to go in using the social cohesion funds.

Health Open Forum "Together for Health – a Strategy for the EU 2020"

The EFN participated in the Health Open Forum, organised by DG SANCO, on 29-30 June 2010, in Brussels. One of the major objectives of the Conference was to increase the profile of health within the new Europe 2020 strategy to make sure that the principle of “health in all policies” is effectively integrated in the delivery of this strategy. Under the overall theme of "Together for Health – a Strategy for the EU 2020" the conference marked an important step towards strengthening the involvement of stakeholders in contributing to the development and implementation of actions and activities to protect and improve the health of European citizens. But, it was not clear HOW the Commission is going to develop this partnership, WHO will be the partners, and WHAT they will do. Nevertheless, it is clear that the EU citizens must be key partners in constructing the strategy and that they are able to play a key role in delivering the objectives established.

News from the EU

EU Presidency

On 1st July, Belgium took over the European Union’s six-month rotating presidency from Spain. The Belgian Presidency will be the first presidency to implement the European Employment Strategy, updated in light of the objectives defined within the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy for employment and growth. In terms of Health, the Council will continue negotiations on the draft directive relating to cross-border healthcare, and particular attention will be devoted to the question of professionals from the healthcare sector, and to the determining social factors of health. The EFN has been working closely with the Belgian presidency on the item of EU workforce, a main concern for nurses and the nursing profession, and will be organizing a conference on EU workforce for Health, in the European Parliament, on 27 October 2010.

European multilingual classification of jobs and skills

The European Commission is developing a European Skills, Competences and Occupations taxonomy (ESCO), which will describe the most relevant skills, competences and qualifications needed for several thousand occupations. Aimed at institutions and stakeholders in the labour market and education sector, this new tool - part of New Skills for New Jobs initiative carried out in cooperation between the European Commission and the EU Member States to foster skills development and employability-, will be progressively developed over the coming years to include as many occupations as possible. Once finalised, it will be the first classification of its kind available in all EU languages.

EU structural funds in European regions

Whether and how to use EU regional funding to counteract Europe’s economic crisis has been a subject of debate in 2010. Meeting on 6 July, the MEPs called for more flexible and "intelligent" use of EU structural funds in the European regions. From its side, the European Commission has already given its green light to new measures designed to simplify access to EU regional and cohesion funds, a measure the EU executive hopes will provide much-needed liquidity in tackling the economic crisis, and has provided advances totalling 775€ million to Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary and Romania. Furthermore, countries that have not used all the regional funds within the allocated period have also been given a grace period to speed up their absorption of EU money. The EFN believe it is important that the EU Member States use these Structural funds, and has taken active steps in supporting its Members towards applying for social cohesion funds in the areas of Nurse Education and Workforce Recruitment and Retention. Poland has had a successful story, receiving over 40 million from the Social Cohesion Funds to invest in advancing the training of 36.000 nurses.