Health costs are already swallowing up 10% of GDP in the OECD countries, with a 4% year-on-year increase in the EU. The already aged European population has a life expectancy that is growing by a year every four years. And there is an economic crisis. Small wonder that Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is becoming a key tool for determining the safety, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness of therapies and technologies. Such assessments can be pivotal to decisions about whether diagnostic/ treatment costs are reimbursed.

CEEP welcomes the Commission staff working paper on the application of EU public procurement law to relations between contracting authorities (“public public cooperation”).This is a positive signal to public service providers who need clarity and simplicity when carrying out their mission for citizens.

Despite huge increases in spending over the last three decades, progress in dealing with the most frequent and burdensome diseases is appalling. The EU Flagship Pilot IT Future of Medicine (ITFoM) could remedy that, experts said at the European Health Forum  Gastein. The flagship‘s investments of 1 billion euros in the course of the next decade are expected to save up to 100 billion euros per year in health expenditures in the future.

Brussels, 7 October 2011 - The SME Standardization Toolkit (SMEST2) project has finalized the evaluation of the first version of the toolkit developed in 2009 and 2010. Based on the results and recommendation of SMEST1 an improved toolkit is currently being developed. Further analysis will be made of the standardization activities and potential benefits of standardization to SMEs.

Brussels and Lisbon, 6 October 2011
Portuguese farmers have grown nearly 60% more genetically modified (GM) maize this year compared to last year, an increase of almost 3,000 ha to a total of 7,843 ha in 2011.  This impressive growth highlights the need for more innovative agricultural technologies in the European Union (EU). Compared to North and South America, Asia, and, increasingly, Africa, the EU has approved far fewer GM products, which directly affects farmers’ competitiveness.