Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-04-09-Speech-3-187"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20080409.22.3-187"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Madam President, I have followed with interest the discussion on cancer and I must say once again that cancer is not something which is temporarily on our agenda: it is something which is so serious for the whole of the European Union – and not only – that we cannot be complacent and it will always be among our priorities.
I have been described as an expert on cancer. I must say that I am not an expert on cancer. There are people here who are really experts on cancer, but I am a person who has worked for many years in the fight against cancer and I will remain as such.
I have heard very interesting comments. I will try to answer some of them, but rest assured that I have taken note of all the comments that were made, and we shall include them in our deliberations when we formulate our action plan.
Concerning Structural Funds, the Commission has now included health as one of the priority areas for funding, so the funds can be used for health infrastructure, including cancer.
Mention was made of carcinogens in the workplace. We already have strong European standards, as you know, on health and safety. The Commission will, of course, work to keep those standards updated as science updates our knowledge of risks. I will work on this with Commissioner Špidla, who is responsible for this area of legislation.
The suggestion was made repeatedly concerning the setting-up of an interinstitutional task force to fight cancer. I would examine this during the deliberations of the forthcoming Health Council in Slovenia, and I would also make another addition to this suggestion: that I would like to see representatives of patients and of professionals included in this task force.
Recognition of oncology as a specialisation is something that is, indeed, very necessary, but I would point out that this is something for the Member States to do. But, as far as I am concerned, I will exert all my influence in encouraging Member States to do so.
Many speakers spoke about anti-smoking campaigns. We all know that smoking is one of the most serious detriments to health, and my intention is not only to continue the campaign against smoking but also to try to involve youth in this campaign, not only to make it less trendy for them but also to make them understand that it is to their benefit not to start smoking, and make them involved actively in the campaign so that the word is spread among young people, because that is the first stage to prevent smoking – to start with the young people.
As I said, many other interesting proposals have been made. I will take all of them into consideration, and I will continue to work closely with Members of Parliament in reaching a very good action plan for next year."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples