In this issue

• CED GENERAL MEETING
• Meeting with EU Health Commissioner
• Meeting with CPME President
• CED BOARD MEETING
• Working Group Oral Health agrees on oral cancer focus for 2015

SECTION I - CED ACTIVITIES

CED GENERAL MEETING

CED GENERAL MEETING

On 21 November 2014, representatives of CED member and observer organisations met in Brussels for the regular six-monthly General Meeting. During the plenary session, members of the CED unanimously adopted a Resolution on infection control and waste management in dentistry. CED members stressed that all dental treatments should be provided so as to minimise the risk of healthcare-associated infections. Read more

CED PRESIDENT

Meeting with EU Health Commissioner

On 28 January 2015, CED President Dr Wolfgang Doneus met, together with the CPME President Dr Katrín Fjeldsted, the new European Commissioner for Health Dr Vytenis Andriukaitis. Commissioner Andriukaitis, a surgeon by training and a former Lithuanian Health Minister, stressed the importance he will assign during his mandate to working with health professions and other stakeholders. Read more

Meeting with CPME President

On 28 January 2015, CED President Dr Wolfgang Doneus met with CPME President Dr Katrín Fjeldsted in Brussels. Coming a year after the signature of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two organistions, the meeting focused on the many areas of good cooperation between the CED and the CPME. Read more

CED BOARD

CED BOARD MEETING

On 20 November 2014, the CED Board met in Brussels. The Board discussed current work of CED Working Groups and Board Task Forces as well as the EU political developments and recommended for approval the resolution which was to be adopted by the General Meeting the following day.The Board also discussed the issues of standardization of healthcare services which are becoming of high concern for the profession. Read more

SME Intergroup meeting on Liberal Professions

On 2 December 2014, CED Vice-President Marco Landi and Head of Office Nina Bernot attended a breakfast meeting of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Intergroup in the European Parliament on SMEs in Liberal Professions. CED members Peter Engel, Wolfgang Sprekels, Florian Lemor, Jörg Krainhöfner and Alfred Büttner also participated in their national capacities. Read more

Conference of the Joint Action on Health Workforce

On 4 and 5 December 2014, the second conference of the EU Joint Action on Health Workforce Planning and Forecasting took place in Rome with support by the Italian EU Presidency. CED Vice-President Marco Landi, Nina Bernot and Sara Roda attended the event. The CED is an associated partner of the Joint Action and actively contributes to its work in many areas. Read more

CED WORKING GROUPS (WG)

WG Amalgam & Other Restorative Materials (A&ORM)

On 28 October 2014, Working Group Amalgam and Other Restorative Materials met in London at BDA premises to discuss and prepare the CED responses to the public consultations on SCENIHR preliminary opinion on the safety of dental amalgam and on the Ratification of the Minamata Convention. The Working Group also discussed the Commission’s proposal to amend the Waste Directive and the possible impact for the profession (the proposal was ultimately withdrawn by the Commission on 22 January 2015 with a promise that a more ambitious proposal would be presented in 2015). The Working Group further discussed on other restorative materials, taking note about the increasing importance of endocrine disruptors in the EU agenda.

WG Education and Professional Qualifications (EPQ)

On 1 December 2014, Working Group Education and Professional Qualifications met in Brussels to discuss and prepare the draft CED resolution on the dental team relationship with patients. The recommendations set out in this document intend to underline: i) the importance of the dentist leadership as to guarantee patient safety; ii) the ideal composition of the dental team and the dentist' relationship with dental technicians; iii) the responsibilities and competences that dentists expect from their dental team; iv) and the relationship between the members of the dental team and patients. Read more

CED WORKING GROUPS

Meeting with DG GROWTH (WG EPQ)

On 22 January, the Working Group Education and Professional Qualifications Chair Prof Paulo Melo, the CED Head of Office Nina Bernot and CED Policy Officer Sara Roda met with the Head of Free Movement of Professionals Unit Mr Martin Frohn (DG GROWTH, former DG Internal Market) and Legal Officers Mr András Zsigmond and Ms Sophie Weisswange to inform about the latest CED policy on vocational training (adopted in May 2014). Read more

ESCO Meeting (WG EPQ)

On 18 December 2014 and 28 of January 2015 ESCO Reference Group « Human Healthcare and Social Services » met to discuss and agree on the final list of transversal, cross-sectoral and sector specific skills and competences. At the last meeting, the specific skills and competences of dental practitioners were reviewed. The Group also discussed a proposal to introduce international qualifications in ESCO’s third pillar, taking however the decision to recommend that these should be excluded from ESCO. The Group will hold a last meeting on 12-13 March 2015 to conclude its work. CED Policy Officer Sara Roda attended as an observer.

Working Group Oral Health agrees on oral cancer focus for 2015

Working Group Oral Health met on 22 January 2015 in Brussels to discuss the theme and messages of the European Oral Health Day 2015. The theme of the European Oral Health Day (12 September) will be oral cancer and the messages will stress the importance of early diagnosis, uncluding during regular visits to the dentist, and early treatment. Other messages will include the importance of prevention through healthy diet and avoidance of tobacco and alcohol use. Read more

WG Tooth Whitening (WG TW)

On 10 October 2014, Working Group Tooth Whitening met on line to discuss the risks that the use of whitening lamps by non-professionals could bring to patients and non-professionals themselves if not adequately protected and, for the first time, the Working Group  discussed about the health benefits that tooth whitening could bring for the overall improvement of oral health and for preventing and treating disease (e.g. root and teeth decay). They also agreed that the current prohibition on the use of tooth whitening products (TWPs) on under 18's was not in the patients' best interest.

Meeting with DG GROWTH (WG TW)

On 10 December 2014, the Working Group Chair Dr Stefaan Hanson and Policy Officer Sara Roda met with the Head of Health Technology & Cosmetics Unit Ms Sabine Lecrenier (DG GROWTH, former DG SANCO) and the Legal Officer Ms Izabela Taborska to present the preliminary findings of the second and third surveys on undesirable effects caused by TWPs. The participants discussed the borates ban in cosmetic products, having Ms Lecrenier confirmed that sodium perborate and perboric acid had been classified as CMR1B substances and that no derogation to the ban had been granted (further information about the ban here). The Chair brought the Commission's attention to the WG's position on under 18's, informing about the contacts with EAPD and IADR, as well as the WG efforts in collecting evidence to demonstrate that TWPs between 0,1% to <6% of H2O2 were safe to be used in minors.

CED BOARD TASK FORCES (BTF)

BTF Liberal Professions

The Board Task Force Liberal Professions held a meeting on 19 November 2014 in Brussels. The members discussed the latest developments regarding liberal professions at EU level and the CED's contribution to the public consultation on the Small Business Act. Further discussion points included the results of the meeting of the European Commission’s Working Group Liberal Professions which had taken place on 1 October in Naples and had been attended by the CED Vice-President Dr Marco Landi and the CED’s participation in future events on liberal professions.

CED OFFICE

MEETING OF CED COMMUNICATIONS OFFICERS

On 9 October 2014, the CED Brussels Office hosted the meeting of CED Communications Officers - persons responsible for communications in national dental associations. Six participants from five different countries attended the meeting which included a visit to the European Parliament and a presentation of CED policy and structures. Read more

Portuguese Dental Congress

Per invitation of the President of the Portuguese Dental Association (PDA) Dr Orlando Monteiro da Silva, CED Policy Officer Sara Roda participated in the panel discussion on “Dentistry in Europe” at the Portuguese Dental Congress held from 6-8 November 2014 in Porto, Portugal. At the opening ceremony of the Congress, the President of the PDA presented the first Portuguese Oral Health Barometer available here. Read more

Meeting of Medical Devices Expert Group

On 17 November 2014, CED Policy Officer Aleksandra Sanak attended the meeting of the Medical Devices Expert Group (MDEG) in Brussels. During the meeting various legislative issues and initiatives as well as main activities of MDEG Working Groups were discussed. Read more

Conference on quality, safety and cost-effectiveness

On 3 and 4 November, the CED Policy Officer Aleksandra Sanak attended a conference on 'Quality, safety and cost-effectiveness' organised by the Italian Ministry of Health in Rome. Read more

CPD study presented to Health Ministries

On 24 November 2014, CED's Nina Bernot and Sara Roda attended the meeting of the Commission-led Working Group on European Workforce for Health. The meeting was an opportunity for the consortium that authored the study on continuous professional decelopment (CPD) for health professionals in the EU to present the study to representatives of Ministries of Health.   Read more

Meeting on data protection

On 12 December 2014, CED Policy Officer Sara Roda attended a meeting with the European Commission (DG JUSTICE, DG CONNECT and DG SANCO) to discuss the Commission's proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation. The meeting was organised by COCCIR and the CED attended as an observer. The participants, several health stakeholders, shared their views on the Regulation and had an open discussion on the provisions that pose a concern in particular for SMEs.

Meeting of the Patient Safety and Quality of Care Working Group

On 18 December 2014, CED's Nina Bernot and Aleksandra Sanak attended a meeting of the Commission-led Patient Safety and Quality of Care Working Group in Brussels. Read more

MEPs Against Cancer (MAC) Briefing: EU Consultation on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals

On 7 January 2015, the CED Policy Officer Aleksandra Sanak attended the MEPs Against Cancer (MAC) Briefing on EU Consultation on Endocrine Disruptors hosted by MEP Christel Schaldemose and co-organised by the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) and the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) in the European Parliament. The participants discussed cancer prevention through better regulation of hormone disrupting chemicals. Effective regulation represents an opportunity for prevention of hormone-related cancers.

EXPAND Multi-Stakeholder Engagement Workshop

On 28 January 2015, CED Policy Officer Aleksandra Sanak participated in a Multi-Stakeholder Engagement Workshop organized by EXPAND Thematic Network. EXPAND – Expanding Health Data Interoperability Services – is a Thematic Network (TN) project funded by the European Commission Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP) within the ICT Policy Support Programme. Read more

EMI TTIP Briefing

On 29 January 2015, the European Movement International (EMI) organised a briefing with the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). The massive participation of stakeholders was not surprising, considering the unprecedented public interest that this issue is having in Europe. If agreed, the TTIP will be the biggest bilateral free trade agreement in history.  Read more