Report on the outcomes of EPF's workshop on health and cohesion policy now available

EPF organised a workshop at this year’s Open Health Forum earlier this week in Brussels. EPF President Ander Olauson was rapporteur for the workshop entitled “Positioning health at the centre of the post-2013 cohesion policy”.

Enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (Art. 174), the EU's Cohesion Policy aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion by reducing disparities in the level of development between regions. As such Cohesion policy  is one of the more tangible EU policies and in terms of added value, it is a showcase for what the EU can bring to the lives of its citizens. However, with new policy challenges and a rapidly evolving European socio-economic landscape, it is vital that Cohesion Policy be made more flexible and responsive to these changes.

The workshop looked at the role of “Health” as a key element for supporting economic, social and territorial cohesion across Europe. It focused on opportunities for direct and indirect health gains under the current programming period where speakers provided concrete examples which focused on good practices from Structural Funds- supported  health investments. Key issues of the post 2013 debate as well as speaker’s vision of how to integrate Health into sustainable regional development frameworks through the Structural Funds was also addressed.

The final report of the workshop presented by Anders Olauson can be found here.

EPF will develop a more detailed report which we hope will contribute to the upcoming debate at EU and national levels. 

Presentation:

  OHF-2010-A.Olauson Workshop 2 Health and Cohesion Policy.ppt

Workshop Report:

 Health and Cohesion Policy Final Report.pdf