Last updated: 20 september 2006

President’s Message

Dear EFN Members and Colleagues,


Welcome to the September EFN Update which aims to support our ongoing work to promote and protect nurses and the nursing profession by ensuring we are all well informed about the most recent developments across Europe. It is essential that all members are aware of the current issues in order to coordinate our contributions at national and European level to best effect.


I hope you had an enjoyable summer break and I look forward to meeting and working with you in the coming months.


 Annette Kennedy
 EFN President

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September 20, 2006

News from EFN

Fifty-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe

The EFN General Secretary participated in the fifty-sixth session of the WHO Regional Committee for Europe, held in Copenhagen on 11-14 September 2006. The participants discussed important issues, such as the European strategy on non-communicable diseases; the proposed programme budget 2008-2009; the medium-term strategic plan for 2008-2013; the future of the WHO Regional Office for Europe; and health security.

During the meeting, EFN-ICN and CICIAMS circulated a joint position statement on the ‘Contribution of Nurses to the Health System Reform within the Member States of the WHO European Region’, where it is asked that the WHO European Region concentrate further on health system reform and to work in partnership with civil society, particularly nursing organisations, to make changes possible.


To read the joint Position Statement:
http://www.efnweb.org/version1/en/pos_stat_EU.html

Update

September 18, 2006

News from the EU

Services Directive

MEP Evelyne Gebhardt, rapporteur of the Services Directive, presented on 13 September 2006 eleven amendments to the Council’s common position on the Directive to the European Parliament Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO). These amendments concern the articles: 1.6 and 1.7 (exclusion of the right to work and to exercise fundamental rights from the scope of the directive), 2.2 (exclusion of services of general interest and social services), 3 (link between the directive and consumer protection rules), 28-31 (regulation of service providers and their services by the Member States), 39.5 (requirement for the European Commission to issue guidelines on the application of the directive). The next meetings of the Internal Market Committee are due to take place on 4-5 and 9-10 October, with the committee vote scheduled for 23 October. The plenary vote will take place in November.

To read the second Draft recommendation for second reading:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu

September 20

European Social Model for the future

(2005/2248(INI))

The European Parliament adopted with a broad majority the Employment and Social Affairs Committee own-initiative report on the future of the European Social Model. The MEPs highlight the necessity to preserve and enhance the values associated with the European Social Model and the high social standards already achieved.

They are convinced that the economic and social systems must be urgently reformed where they fail to meet the criteria of efficiency and socially sustainable development, and where they are inadequate to tackle the challenges of demographic change, globalisation and IT revolution.

To read the report:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu