The European Commission has been forced to cut back its public health programme over the next seven years, after receiving just a little over a third of the funding it had originally asked for.
The cutback could affect individual public health projects funded by the commission, and it has forced the commission to drop its plans to introduce measures to tackle individual diseases in member countries.
However, plans to promote cooperation among countries' health systems will still go ahead, although in a watered down form.
Faced with the determination of most European Union governments to keep a tight rein on public spending, the commission found its opening bid of €969m (£664m; $1.25bn) for the seven years 2007 to 2013 reduced by nearly two thirds, to €366m.
On an annual basis this marks a drop of €7.8 million on the €60m allocated to the current health programme. This is despite the fact that a new agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, is still in the process of recruiting new personnel and building up its resources.
The public health programme will now concentrate on three main areas over the next seven years: improving European citizens' general health security by supporting measures against cross border threats such as bird flu and by improving patients' safety in areas ranging from hospital infections to injuries; promoting healthy lifestyles, supporting measures to identify and remove differences in health across the European Union, and encouraging movement of patients and health professionals from one country to another; and improving overall knowledge about health by supporting the exchange of the best practices in areas ranging from rare diseases to mental health and by increasing the flow of reliable information to the public through such techniques as the EU's new internet health portal (http://ec.europa.eu/health-eu/index_en.htm).
The austerity facing the EU's public health programme will also affect the funding available for individual projects. Normally the EU covers 60% of the costs involved. However, in exceptional circumstances it can currently provide up to 95%; in future this ceiling will be reduced to 80%.
Catherine Stihler, a British Labour member of the European parliament who has a longstanding interest in health issues, described the funding made available as “very disappointing” and pointed out that “very serious choices would have to be made” when deciding which schemes should have EU support.
The European Public Health Alliance, which represents over 100 non-governmental and nonprofit organisations, warned that projects and networks currently being supported by the EU face an uncertain future.