In the first half of 1999, it is Germany’s turn to hold the Presidency of the European Union and this affords me the very special honour of speaking to this assembly as the incumbent President of the European Union’s Council of Health Ministers. It also gives me the opportunity to make a number of basic statements about the current state and future perspectives of European Union health policy and, in doing so, to address in particular the relationship between the European Union and the World Health Organization.

Health policy and health matters have been strengthened within the European Union (EU). The EU’s new public health programme will become more visible and comprehensible to the general public in order to be responsive to the citizen’s needs and concerns. Ideally, EU public health policy must be far more than just the continuation of national policy at the European level. Europe is gaining more and more influence over the structures and the contents of the public health system. The increasing interlinking of economies - including globalization, changes in the technological environment, financial problems facing health care systems as a result of demographic and labour market factors, changing values in society, the growing mobility of our populations and, as a result, the emergence of health hazards, often on an international scale - all pose comparable challenges to our health systems.

A public health policy at the European level will also be able to create transparency and give orientation, not only to the 15 Member States but also to applicant countries. Given this perspective, there is a room for closer collaboration between the World Health Organization and the European Union. This does not mean, however, that agreement does not already exist on a number of important individual questions. One of the items on the agenda of this year’s World Health

Assembly is, for example, combating tobacco abuse. The Member States of the EU welcome the initiatives taken by WHO in this regard. They welcome them not least because there is broad agreement about what needs to be done to turn the tide on smoking, which is considered the biggest self-imposed burden on health. This is why we need closer cooperation in this area in the future.

Since the 15 Member States of the EU are at the same time members of WHO, they are all intent on pursuing closer cooperation between both organizations with a view to achieving the expected synergistic effects. As President of the Council, I wish to assure you that the Council of Ministers will most certainly support these efforts.