16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 418/1

16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 418/4

(1)

By its Decision of 13 October 2015 (2), the Council appointed the members and alternate members of the Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Social Security Systems for the period 20 October 2015 to 19 October 2020.

(2)

The Government of Denmark has submitted further nominations for several posts to be filled,

16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 418/6

1.

RECALLS that under Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union a high level of human health protection shall be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Union policies and activities, and that Union action which is to complement national policies shall be directed towards improving public health, preventing illness and disease, and obviating sources of danger to physical and mental health. Such action shall also cover the fight against the major health scourges, by in particular promoting research into their causes and their prevention, as well as health information and education;

The Union shall encourage cooperation between the Member States in the field of public health and, if necessary, support their action. The Union and the Member States shall foster cooperation with third countries and competent international organisations. Union action shall fully respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the definition of their health policy and for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care, including the allocation of the resources assigned to them;

2.

RECALLS that harmful use of alcohol has been recognised as an important risk factor set out in the communication from the Commission on the health strategy of the European Community (1) and that actions to reduce alcohol-related harm have been financed from the second and third Union Health Programmes (2);

3.

RECALLS the Council Recommendation of 2001 on the drinking of alcohol by young people (3), which invited the Commission, in cooperation with Member States, to make full use of all Community policies to address the matters covered in the recommendation, inter alia, the development at national and European level of comprehensive health promotion policies addressing alcohol;

4.

RECALLS the EU Strategy to support Member States in reducing alcohol related harm (2006-2012) (4) as well as the Council Conclusions of 2001 (5), 2004 (6) and 2006 (7), inviting the Commission to put forward a comprehensive strategy aimed at reducing alcohol-related harm, the setting up of the Committee on National Alcohol Policy and Action (CNAPA) to support the implementation of such a strategy, as well as the Council Conclusions of 2009 (8) inviting the Commission to define priorities for the next phase of the Commission's work on alcohol and health after the end of the first EU Alcohol Strategy in 2012;

5.

WELCOMES the European Parliament Resolution on Alcohol Strategy of 29 April 2015 calling for a new EU Alcohol Strategy (2016-2022) (9), reiterating the importance of a strong political commitment from the Commission, Parliament, the Council and the Member States to increase efforts to prevent alcohol-related harm;

6.

WELCOMES the WHO Global Strategy to reduce harmful use of alcohol (10) and the WHO European action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 2012-2020 (11);

7.

NOTES WITH CONCERN that, according to the WHO's Global Status Report on alcohol and health (12), harmful use of alcohol is among the world's leading risk factors for disease and disability, and that the European Union is the region with the highest alcohol consumption in the world with an average adult (aged 15+ years) alcohol consumption of 10,1 litres of pure alcohol in 2012 (13);

8.

NOTES WITH CONCERN that, according to the report of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use — Economics and Public Health Policy (14), regular and heavy drinking is on the rise in some Member States, and there is general concern at the alarming increase in alcohol consumption among young people (minors and young adults) and women in many Member States, and that alcohol abuse not only has a negative impact on the health of individuals, but also on society at large;

9.

STRESSES that reducing the burden of alcohol-related avoidable death, chronic diseases and injuries, violence, health inequalities and other social consequences to third parties, as well as risky drinking behaviour in particular among young people, has become a common concern and that cooperation and coordination at EU level would be of added value;

10.

STRESSES that prevention of alcohol-related harm represents a necessary investment, which is beneficial for the economy as it allows economic losses and healthcare expenditure to be limited in the long term, inter alia, by decreasing the burden of chronic diseases, including cancer, and workforce productivity to be raised;

11.

STRESSES also that reduction of harmful use of alcohol also has a positive effect on public security and road safety, in particular on the reduction of road deaths and injuries;

12.

NOTES that the reduction of alcohol-related harm requires actions across a range of policy areas and involving many sectors across society, at both national and EU level;

13.

REITERATES the call for an EU strategy on the reduction of alcohol-related harm expressed by a large number of ministers at the informal meeting of health ministers on 21 April 2015 as well as at the EPSCO Council on 19 June 2015, and underlines the fact that such an EU strategy can further support and complement national public health policies.

14.

CONTINUE to promote a multi-sectoral approach as regards the reduction of alcohol-related harm at national and EU level and strengthen or develop, as appropriate, comprehensive national strategies or action plans tailored to specific local and regional traditions;

15.

ADOPT appropriate measures to address the protection of young people from harmful use of alcohol, notably in the field of the legal drinking age and marketing exposure and CONTINUE to support information and education on the harmful use of alcohol and particularly risky drinking behaviour.

16.

STRENGTHEN cooperation on identification of effective measures and best practices aimed at minimising health and social impacts as well as health inequalities stemming from of harmful use of alcohol, focusing particularly on prevention of risky drinking behaviour among young people, on people who consume alcohol at harmful levels or with harmful drinking patterns, on alcohol consumption during pregnancy and on driving while under the influence of alcohol;

17.

CONTINUE to support the work of CNAPA, while taking into account the results of the implementation report on the first EU Alcohol Strategy (15) as well as the involvement of stakeholders at national and European level to reduce alcohol-related harm;

18.

RECOGNISE the need to continue gathering information at EU level on the implementation of alcohol-related national legislation, respecting national competences as well as regional and local social and cultural traditions;

19.

CONSIDER, in particular in the light of the report to be adopted by the Commission in accordance with Article 16(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of food information to consumers (16), the possibility of introduction of mandatory labelling of ingredients and nutrition declaration, in particular of the energy value, of alcoholic beverages.

20.

CONTINUE its support to Member States in their efforts to reduce alcohol-related harm, while fully respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality;

21.

ADOPT by the end of 2016, while fully respecting Member States' competences, a comprehensive EU strategy dedicated to the reduction of alcohol-related harm and comprising actions across EU policies in order to tackle health, social and economic consequences of the harmful use of alcohol. This dedicated EU strategy should focus on initiatives on the reduction of alcohol-related harm with a cross-border dimension and an EU added value as a follow-up to the first EU Alcohol Strategy (2006-2012) and should take into account the work carried out by CNAPA as well as work done under the WHO Global Strategy on Alcohol and the WHO European action plan to reduce the harmful use of alcohol 2012-2020;

22.

REPORT to the Council on the outcome of its work and progress made in the field of reducing alcohol-related harm.

16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 418/9

1.

RECALLS that under Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union a high level of human health protection must be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Union policies and activities, and that Union action, which is to complement national policies, is to be directed towards improving public health. The Union is to encourage cooperation between Member States in the area of public health and, if necessary, lend support to their actions and foster cooperation with competent international organisations. Union action must fully respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care, including allocation of the resources assigned to them;

2.

NOTES WITH CONCERN that 47,5 million people worldwide are currently living with dementia, 58 % of which live in low- and middle-income countries. It is estimated that in the European Union 6,4 million people live with dementia (1);

3.

RECALLS that dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide and that it has a physical, psychological, social and economic impact on people living with dementia and on their families and caregivers, as well as on society (2);

4.

RECALLS that while the majority of people with dementia are elderly, there are also a significant number of people with early onset dementia;

5.

EMPHASISES patients' rights, particularly those related to human dignity, as laid down in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (3);

6.

RECOGNISES that people can live well with dementia for a number of years, in particular if timely access, assessment, diagnosis and the right support are in place;

7.

RECOGNISES the significant impact of dementia and of diseases linked to dementia on the financial sustainability of health and social security systems;

8.

EMPHASISES the importance of promoting healthy lifestyles, including for brain health, throughout the life cycle, in order to increase healthy life years;

9.

RECALLS that a better understanding of these conditions is required to achieve high health standards for an ageing society, which is one of the priorities of both the second and the current third Health Programme (2014-2020) (4);

10.

RECALLS that numerous initiatives at EU level have also acknowledged dementia as a priority for action in the context of demographic change and reiterated the significant consequences of the increase in the number of people living with the disease (5);

11.

RECALLS the Council Conclusions adopted on 16 December 2008 on public health strategies to combat neurodegenerative diseases associated with ageing, which called on the Commission to adopt an initiative in 2009 to combat these diseases (6);

12.

RECALLS that the Commission proposed a new approach for making better use of Europe's public R & D funds through Joint Programming in key areas that include Alzheimer's disease. As a result, the Member-States led Joint Programming Initiative on Neurodegenerative Diseases (JPND) was launched in 2010 with the aim to better coordinate national research efforts in the field of neurodegenerative diseases and in particular Alzheimer's disease;

13.

RECALLS that the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (2007-2013) spent more than EUR 576 million in funding on research on dementia and neurodegenerative diseases between 2007 and 2013; building on these results, Horizon 2020 (2014-2020), the new EU Framework for Research and Innovation – Horizon 2020 allows to further address dementia as a societal and health challenge, with already more than EUR 103 million invested in dementia-relevant research and innovation actions;

14.

WELCOMES the Resolution of the European Parliament, adopted on 19 January 2011, on a European initiative on Alzheimer's disease and other dementias calling for dementia to be made an EU health priority and strongly urging Member States to develop dedicated national plans (7);

15.

RECALLS the first report of the World Health Organisation (WHO), ‘Dementia: A Public Health Priority’ (8), published in 2012, which provided information on and raised awareness of dementia and made it one of the priority conditions addressed in the WHO Mental Health Gap Action Programme (9), which aims to scale up care for mental, neurological and substance abuse disorders;

16.

WELCOMES the Declaration of G8 Health Ministers on Dementia, adopted on 11 December 2013 at the G8 Summit, to foster innovation to identify a cure or a disease-modifying therapy for dementia by 2025 as well as strategic priority areas and to increase funding for research (10);

17.

RECALLS the Italian Presidency Conference ‘Dementia in Europe: a challenge for our common future’, held in Rome on 14 November 2014 (11), which provided an overview of initiatives on dementia in the EU, notably on prevention, treatment and elderly health promotion;

18.

RECALLS the report of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of 13 March 2015 entitled ‘Better dementia care and a future cure require action today’ (12), which reaffirmed the need for dementia to be made a political priority;

19.

WELCOMES the Call for Action signed by participants at the first WHO Ministerial Conference on Global Action Against Dementia in Geneva on 17 March 2015, which underlined governments' primary role and responsibility in responding to the challenge of dementia and emphasised the need for multi-sectoral and coordinated action at global and national level, aimed notably at advancing prevention, risk reduction, diagnosis and treatment of dementia (13);

20.

STRESSES that in recent years dementia has become a high priority for more and more Member States, given the fact that development, adoption or implementation of national strategies, action plans or programmes addressing dementia are ongoing in the majority of the Member States; that Member States' initiatives already in place or under way are based on an integrated approach to the patient pathway which considers health and social issues;

21.

WELCOMES the discussion at the informal meeting of EU Health Ministers on 24 September 2015 on fostering development and implementation of national strategies, action plans or programmes on dementia as well as on facilitating the exchange of best practices at EU level, taking into account WHO activities;

22.

WELCOMES the second Joint Action on Dementia, to be launched in 2016.

23.

ADDRESS dementia as a priority through cross-sectoral national strategies, action plans or programmes on dementia to provide appropriate treatment and assistance to people living with dementia, their families and caregivers, while ensuring the sustainability of health and social security systems.

24.

CONTINUE to devote special attention to strengthening the coordination within Member States of relevant policies in the field of dementia, including reinforcing the role of primary care.

25.

RECOGNISE that continued collaboration across sectors among Member States and at EU level – taking into account WHO activities – will allow for a valuable contribution to improve the support of people living with dementia;

26.

RECOGNISE the benefits of the empowerment of people living with dementia and encourage their inclusion in decision-making processes by strengthening their representation, particularly in initiatives, organisations and bodies in the field of dementia;

27.

SUPPORT a gender-sensitive, individual-and research based approach in the elaboration of strategies, plans and programmes on dementia, taking account of groups with specific needs, the impact of cultural diversity on perceptions of dementia, as well as the expectations and rights of people living with dementia and their families and caregivers;

28.

RECOGNISE the important role of families and caregivers, notably by ensuring their inclusion in decision making processes, and the need to protect their physical and mental wellbeing through adequate support.

29.

ACKNOWLEDGE the important work of the Governmental Expert Group on Dementia in facilitating the sharing of experiences and good practices to support Member States in developing and implementing national strategies, plans or programmes on dementia;

30.

SUPPORT work in the context of EU policy areas that might have an impact on dementia policy, notably the Working Party on Public Health at Senior Level as well as the Social Protection Committee (SPC) (14) and the Economic Policy Committee (EPC) (15) on health care and long-term care;

31.

TAKE FORWARD, while fully respecting Member States' competences, discussions at EU level on the following issues:

32.

INTENSIFY research on dementia, building upon the result of EU funded projects such as EU Joint Programming Initiative on Neurodegenerative Disease (JPND), particularly on its risk factors and underlying pathophysiology, as well as translation of successful interventions on dementia management into clinical practice, also considering public-public, public-private and international partnerships;

33.

BENEFIT from resources, models and tools successfully developed at EU level, such as those gathered by the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing, the ALCOVE Joint Action and from the strategies developed for scaling-up good practices;

34.

DEVELOP, where appropriate, in close cooperation with the Governmental Expert Group on Dementia, voluntary guidance based on a comprehensive and integrated perspective on dementia, taking into account the aspects of coordinated prevention and health promotion, timely diagnosis, post-diagnostic support, treatment and care, while respecting Member States' competences;

35.

IDENTIFY and EXCHANGE, in close cooperation with the Governmental Expert Group on Dementia, good practices, notably as regards targeted prevention, including secondary prevention, health promotion, timely diagnosis, post-diagnostic support and therapy, research, training and further education of health professionals, as well as public information to combat stigma;

36.

IMPROVE the quality of epidemiological information on dementia to facilitate the development of national strategies, actions plans or programmes as well as the exchange of good practices;

37.

EMPHASISE the work of non-governmental organisations and voluntary work in the field of dementia aiming to contribute effectively to national strategies, action plans or programmes.

38.

STRENGTHEN the cooperation of Member States in the Governmental Expert Group on Dementia to facilitate the sharing of information on policy frameworks and of good practices already in place, as well as to support countries in developing and implementing national strategies, plans and programmes on dementia;

39.

FOSTER the ongoing cooperation with the WHO and the OECD on dementia, in close coordination with Member States.

16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 418/13

16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 418/14

16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 418/15

16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 418/16

16.12.2015   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 418/17

1.

On 8 December 2015, the Commission received a notification of a proposed concentration pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (1) by which the undertaking Lone Star Fund IX (USA), belonging to the Lone Star group (‘Lone Star’, USA) acquires within the meaning of Article 3(1)(b) of the Merger Regulation sole control of the whole of the undertaking MRH (GB) Limited (‘MRH’, UK) by way of purchase of shares.

2.

The business activities of the undertakings concerned are:

3.

On preliminary examination, the Commission finds that the notified transaction could fall within the scope of the Merger Regulation. However, the final decision on this point is reserved. Pursuant to the Commission Notice on a simplified procedure for treatment of certain concentrations under Council Regulation (EC) No 139/2004 (2) it should be noted that this case is a candidate for treatment under the procedure set out in this Notice.

4.

The Commission invites interested third parties to submit their possible observations on the proposed operation to the Commission.

Observations must reach the Commission not later than 10 days following the date of this publication. Observations can be sent to the Commission by fax (+32 22964301), by email to [email protected] or by post, under reference number M.7793 — Lone Star Fund IX/MRH, to the following address: