Peter Liese and Lídia Pereira:
“It is very important that ‘Next Generation EU’ does not mean that the young generations inherits a huge amount of debts but that we invest in future proof infrastructure” say Peter Liese, environmental spokesperson of the largest political group (EPP/Christian Democrats) in the European Parliament and Lídia Pereira responsible rapporteur for the EPP in ENVI and chairperson of the young EPP (YEPP).
The two EPP ENVI members support a cross-party letter of influential members of the ENVI committee ahead of the Council. “It is very important to show solidarity and give a clear signal to the market. That is why we support the Commission’s plan for the recovery. However, we want to be sure that the money is really spend on fighting climate change purposes. We encourage a recovery that is strongly supported in the European Green Deal, digitalization and European reindustrialization.
The European Parliament calls for much greater cooperation between member states on health issues. The largest political groups in the European Parliament agreed on a resolution on this matter, which is to be adopted on Friday. "The Corona pandemic has shown that we need to cooperate much more. Just like the corona virus, many other health threats respect no borders, which is why politicians must act more jointly across borders," says Dr Peter Liese, health spokesperson for the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP/Christian Democrats). A large majority of MEPs support the four priorities set by the German Presidency, which were outlined by the German Health Minister Jens Spahn in a video conference with MEPs on Monday.
First, better cooperation in combating epidemics, amongst others by strengthening the European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC).
Second, greater cooperation in the development of vaccines and medicines, and a strengthening of the long-term infrastructure along the US-American’s model of BARDA.
Third, strengthening cooperation in the field of e-health and improving the compatibility of the corresponding national systems.
Fourth, concrete measures to prevent shortages of medicines and other important products such as masks.
In the European Parliament, the Members voted a resolution concerning the future of European health policy. Amongst others, an important point here is the strengthening of pharmaceutical production in Europe. In a controversial vote, MEPs also adopted an amendment of the EPP on the importance of intellectual property. "Greens and Social Democrats had initially opposed the wording. I am glad that it was adopted, because we need incentives for research and innovation especially in the current situation. Companies that are not prepared to share their knowledge and produce vaccines or medicines will have to expect compulsory licences. However, this should not fundamentally call into question the need for patents. Without patents, we will not get the breakthrough we need. Neither for treatments and vaccines for Covid-19, nor for other serious health problems”, said Dr Peter Liese, MEP and health spokesperson of the largest political group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats).
Read more: European Parliament calls for strong future of European health policy
"The first drug for the treatment of Covid-19 is officially approved in Europe as of today. The European Commission granted conditional marketing authorization for Remdesivir for the European market." This was pointed out by MEP Peter Liese, health spokesman of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP-Christian Democrats). Conditional marketing authorisation means that the experts believe that the drug is probably effective and has a low level of side effects, but that it is necessary to continue to examine carefully during treatment whether this assumption is correct. In order to better prove the efficacy and safety of Remdesivir, the company must submit the final reports of the Remdesivir trials to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) by December of this year. The data on Remdesivir have been evaluated in an exceptionally short period of time through a so-called rolling review, an approach that the EMA uses in public health emergencies to evaluate the data as soon as they become available. "The crisis mechanisms for a fast yet safe conditional approval of medicines in extraordinary crises like this one are a very important tool. Research so far has shown that Remdesivir can reduce the course of the disease, perhaps even reduce the death rate, and that the side effects are acceptable," said the doctor and MEP.
Read more: Commission grants conditional marketing authorisation for Remdesivir