EFA

I am delighted to let you know that the European Parliament has in their plenary session in Strasbourg 15 June voted in favour of the amendments on allergic and respiratory diseases as major diseases alongside with handful of other diseases to be targeted in translational, clinical and diet related research for the FP7, EU 7th Framework Programme for Research for 2007-2013. In other words, everything and more than we asked for! Moreover, the Parliament accepted the Commission proposal provided that they follow their amendments. EFA urges the European Council to follow the Parliament example and invest now in research on allergy, asthma and COPD to increase our knowledge, to prevent and to improve the health related quality of life of the hundreds of millions of Europeans with these diseases. We also welcome the news of the forthcoming Commission Green Paper on Smokefree Environments, which will hopefully lead to banning smoking in workplaces, including public places across the EU, and pave the way to a coordinated European action to enforce and empower all of our patients' right to breathe healthy indoor air, as recognised by the WHO. Svein-Erik Myrseth EFA President