Byrne launches EU health plan
Ireland's European Commissioner David Byrne tonight launched a “health means wealth” plan to boost the EU’s economy.
He said it was time to put good public health at the heart of all EU policies.
Mr Byrne declared: “Modern economies are built on good health. Their competitiveness increasingly depends on enabling their citizens to lead healthier, more productive lives.”
He said the latest evidence showed that a 10% rise in life expectancy could increase a country’s wealth by 0.35%.
“Put simply, health generates wealth,” he said. “That is why achieving good health must become an economic priority.”
Mr Byrne, who steps down later this year at the end of his term as the EU Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, has taken a tough stand against smoking for years and has admitted he would ban smoking in public across Europe if he had the power.
Tonight, launching a “reflection process” on future EU health strategy, he said the threat of obesity now required urgent action.
The Commissioner warned that, in a Europe of 35 nations, the gap was widening between those in good health and those in ill-health across the EU. The life-expectancy gap is about 13 years – from an average 64 years in Latvia for men to 77 years in Sweden
Tonight’s launch marks the start of three months of consultation with consumer groups, non-governmental organisations and public organisations before the Commission produces any concrete proposals on future EU health policy.
Mr Byrne said: “In the end the economics and politics of health will shape the health of our democratic politics. In the future there will be no real Europe without a Europe of health.”
