PURPOSE: to set out a list of recommendations addressed to the Member States on the prevention of injuries and to set out Commission tasks supporting the prevention of injuries as well as the promotion of safety.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Recommendation 2007/C 164/01 on the prevention of injury and the promotion of safety.

CONTENT: t he Council adopted a Recommendation on the prevention of injury and the promotion of safety. Every year, about 235 000 citizens of the Community die as a result of an accident or violence. Injuries are, after cardiovascular diseases, cancer and respiratory diseases, the fourth most common cause of death in the Member States. In children, adolescents and young adults accidents and injuries are the leading cause of death.

The Recommendation aims, in particular, to improve the use of existing data as well as the development, where appropriate, of injury surveillance and of reporting mechanisms, with a view to ensuring a coordinated approach across Member States to develop their national policies, including the exchange of best practice.

The priority areas identified are:

the safety of children and adolescents; the safety of elderly citizens; the safety of vulnerable road users; prevention of sports and leisure injuries; prevention of injuries caused by products and services; prevention of self-harm; prevention of violence, particularly domestic violence against women and children.

Member States should:

make better use of existing data, develop a national injury surveillance and reporting system in order to provide comparable information, and and assess the needs for introducing additional initiatives on product and service safety and in other areas; set up national plans for preventing accidents and injuries; ensure that injury prevention and safety promotion be introduced in a systematic way in schools and in training of health and other professionals.

The Recommendation asks the Commission to:

gather, process and report Community-wide information based on injury surveillance data provided by the Member States; facilitate the exchange of information on good practice and disseminate this information to relevant stakeholders; support Member States in the inclusion of injury prevention knowledge into the training of health and other professionals; carry out Community actions by using the resources provided for in the Community Public Health Programme and successor programmes, the general framework for financing Community actions in support of consumer policy, the Framework Programme for Research and any other relevant Community programmes; lastly, carry out an evaluation report four years after the adoption of the Recommendation to determine whether measures proposed are working effectively and to assess the need for further actions.

SP(2007)0303

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Kathy Sinnott (IND/DEM) and made some changes to the proposal. It wanted to see eight priority areas instead of seven, and inserted the area of safety at the workplace. It also made special reference to the prevention of violence, particularly violence against women and children and pointed out that domestic violence against women is the main cause of death and invalidity among women between the ages of 16 and 44. Parliament also pointed out that people over 65 years of age represent 16% of the total population in the EU, but suffer a disproportionate 40% of fatal injuries; thus the elderly run more than double the risk of encountering a fatal accident, and long bone fractures are the main cause of hospitalisation among the elderly. Parliament inserted the following in its recommendations to Member States:

- carry out scientific studies, particularly on self-harm and risk taking behaviour;

- pay particular attention to the social determinants that provoke injuries and insecurity: the biggest difference in injury, mortality and morbidity rates is between poorer and wealthier countries, and between social classes within countries. The gap is growing, due to factors such as increased road traffic, worsening inequalities in terms of income, higher unemployment, decreasing social support, market liberalisation and increased availability of alcohol, and poor regulatory and enforcement mechanisms. The unemployed, ethnic minority groups, migrant workers, refugees, and disabled and homeless people are particularly at risk;

- take measures so that databases on good practice in injury prevention are based on sound data taking into account local circumstances, and are supported by research that indicates the specific social, economic, infrastructural and cultural circumstances within which successful policies are implemented;

- raise public awareness on causes and consequences by highlighting the responsibilities of both individuals and society as regards the prevention of injuries and the promotion of safety;

- ensure that insurance companies that have access to injury data provide all relevant data to the Member States in order to facilitate the definition of the mechanisms and places where accidents most frequently occur and use this information to improve prevention.

MEPs called for the Commission to submit a legislative proposal for the establishment of a Community-wide injury surveillance system, for the exchange of information on good practice and for the dissemination of information, including precise details of financial implications. Furthermore, all future programmes on the prevention of injury and the promotion of safety should take into account health inequalities, bearing in mind that lack of access to social support, poor community cohesion and social exclusion reduce people's capacity to withstand social conflict without resorting to violence, including self-harm.

T6-0549/2006

Debate in Parliament

A6-0398/2006

A6-0398/2006

PE378.627

PE380.680

PE378.598

PURPOSE: to set out a list of recommendations addressed to the Member States on the prevention of injuries and to set out Commission tasks supporting the prevention of injuries as well as the promotion of safety.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Recommendation.

CONTENT: this Recommendation is being proposed in order to help reduce the amount of injuries across the EU, which after cardiovascular diseases, cancer and respiratory diseases, is the fourth most common cause of death in the Member States. Unlike other diseases, however, injuries are preventable and experience shows that when proper measures are introduced the number of accidents and injuries can be reduced considerably.

This Recommendation is being proposed alongside a Commission Communication on “Actions for a Safer Europe”. In summary, it recommends that the Member States should:

- Develop a national injury surveillance and reporting system in order to provide comparable information;

- Set up national plans for preventing accidents and injuries;

- Ensure that injury prevention and safety promotion be introduced in a systematic way for health care professionals.

For its part, the Recommendation asks the Commission to:

- Within the framework of the “Community Public Health Programme” establish a Community-wide injury surveillance system collecting injury data provided by the Member States;

- Establish a Community –wide mechanism for the exchange of information on good practice and disseminate this information to relevant stakeholders;

- Provide Member States with the necessary evidence for inclusion of injury prevention know-how vis-à-vis health workers;

- Support the development of good practice; and

- Carry out an evaluation report four years after the adoption of this Recommendation to determine whether measures proposed are working effectively and to assess the need for further actions.

COM(2006)0329
EUR-Lex

This Communication focuses on the prevention of accidents and injuries in the Member States through the promotion of public health actions. It provides a strategic framework in the form of a Community action plan which will help the Member States prioritise injury prevention. The actions being proposed will form part of the “Community Public Health Programme” 2003-2008 as well as the “Consumer Policy Strategy” 2003-2006.

The Action Plan has been designed to give the Community the evidence-based information that is needed to help all Member States reduce the burden of injuries. The ultimate goal is to reduce injury mortality and morbidity and to ensure that the Community becomes a safer place to live in.

Previous accident prevention initiatives have managed to reduce the frequency of injuries considerably. Examples include road accidents, workplace accidents, chemical accidents and consumer product related injuries. However, there is still room for improvement. The Communication points to the significant differences in accident and injury rates between Member States and within their populations. The current injury mortality rate in the EU ranges from 27 deaths per 100 000 residents in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands to more than 143 deaths per 100 000 in Lithuania.

Preventative action not only helps reduce the huge burden on societies and individuals it also reduces, considerably, high health care costs and the costs to society from lost productivity. Every year, about 235 000 citizens of the Member States die as a result of an accident or violence. Annually, over 50 million citizens seek medical treatment for an injury and 6.8 million of these are admitted to hospital. Ample evidence exists to prove that preventative measures are cost effective, given that the benefits of preventing injuries often outweigh the costs of intervention by a factor of ten.

This Communication highlights the role of the health care sector in injury prevention. The kind of actions foreseen for workers in the health care sector are:

- quantifying the problems, identifying risk factors and measuring the effectiveness of interventions;

- the reporting of risk factors;

- advocating primary prevention;

- disseminating evidence-based strategies;

- increasing the professional capacities for advising people at risk;

- leading cross-cutting action plans; and

- informing the public about hazards and what safety precautions they can take.

Based on the data received from the Member States the Commission will set up a common information system on accidents and injuries. Such information is a prerequisite for policy making. It will have the advantage of combining data on health and injury statistics as well as helping policy makers assess the health burden vis-à-vis accidents and injuries. The common information system will be complemented by Community support for the exchange of good practice; Community support for national action plans and risk communication.

These action plans have been devised to focus on seven particularly vulnerable groups. They are:

- Children and adolescents;

- Elderly citizens;

- Vulnerable road users (pedestrians, cyclists)

- Sports injuries

- Injuries caused by products and services;

- People vulnerable to self harm;

- People vulnerable to interpersonal violence.

This Communication is accompanied by a Council Recommendation in which the roles of the Member States and the Commission in implementing this Action Plan are specified (please refer to summary of the initial proposal).

COM(2006)0328
EUR-Lex

PURPOSE: to set out a list of recommendations addressed to the Member States on the prevention of injuries and to set out Commission tasks supporting the prevention of injuries as well as the promotion of safety.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Recommendation.

CONTENT: this Recommendation is being proposed in order to help reduce the amount of injuries across the EU, which after cardiovascular diseases, cancer and respiratory diseases, is the fourth most common cause of death in the Member States. Unlike other diseases, however, injuries are preventable and experience shows that when proper measures are introduced the number of accidents and injuries can be reduced considerably.

This Recommendation is being proposed alongside a Commission Communication on “Actions for a Safer Europe”. In summary, it recommends that the Member States should:

- Develop a national injury surveillance and reporting system in order to provide comparable information;

- Set up national plans for preventing accidents and injuries;

- Ensure that injury prevention and safety promotion be introduced in a systematic way for health care professionals.

For its part, the Recommendation asks the Commission to:

- Within the framework of the “Community Public Health Programme” establish a Community-wide injury surveillance system collecting injury data provided by the Member States;

- Establish a Community –wide mechanism for the exchange of information on good practice and disseminate this information to relevant stakeholders;

- Provide Member States with the necessary evidence for inclusion of injury prevention know-how vis-à-vis health workers;

- Support the development of good practice; and

- Carry out an evaluation report four years after the adoption of this Recommendation to determine whether measures proposed are working effectively and to assess the need for further actions.

COM(2006)0329
EUR-Lex