Martin Seychell leaves DG Sante
A great supporter of personalised health and the public health community within the European Commission’s DG SANTE, Martin Seychell is leaving his current DG – where he has been deputy Director General for health since 2011 – to take the number two place at the European Commission International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO). His successor – Sandra Gallina from DG TRADE, will take office as of 1 July.
The new EU4Health programme
The European Commission has proposed a new and ambitious stand-alone health programme covering the 2021-2027 period – the EU4Health Programme. This programme is the European Commission’s initiative to upscale the state of the game in healthcare at the EU-level, aiming at making European citizens healthy as they can be throughout their lives. Moreover, this programme is also aiming at making a significant contribution to the post-COVID-19 recovery in the EU countries by strengthening the resilience of our healthcare systems and promoting innovation in the healthcare sector. This new programme will also fill the gaps revealed by the COVID-19 crisis and ensure that EU health systems are resilient enough to face new and future health threats. Ultimately, this programme wants to create a Europe that supports timely access to affordable, high quality healthcare for all. More details on the EU4Health programme are accessible here.
The European Commission launches a roadmap on GDPR
Two years after the entry into application of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Commission will be reporting on its application across the EU Member States. The Commission’s Roadmap explains that the Commission’s Report will look to evaluate the application of the GDPR in particular as regards international transfer of personal data to third countries and the cooperation and consistency mechanisms between national data protection authorities. The full roadmap is accessible here.
