Ursula von der Leyen wants to hold “regular dialogues” with businesses, which, combined with a focus on competitiveness since the release of Mario Draghi’s report, is going to make it easier for the likes of the tobacco or vaping industry to get involved in conversations and lobby their interests, Caroline Costongs, the director of EuroHealthNet, a partnership of public health organizations, said.
Spelling it out: “It will be easier for lobbyists to get engaged in policymaking, because VdL herself said in her political guidelines that she wants to make things faster and easier and simpler for all businesses,” Costongs said. The push of big corporate industries has already hindered countries’ progress in meeting their targets on non-communicable diseases, panelists argued.
Pressure at home: Pedro Gullón, director general of public health and equity at the Spanish Ministry of Health, said national governments feel this pressure too — through lobbying, demonstrations and other ways to exert influence. And these tactics are working, both at the national and EU level.
The impact: “The fact that there are substantial delays … in the Beating Cancer Plan says a lot,” Costongs said. Although the Commission last week released one strand of the plan on smoke-free environments, other areas of the plan are stuck. “The lobbyists know exactly which sectors to lobby,” she added.
Scale of the lobby: Pharma company Bayer spends over €10 million alone on lobbying in the EU, Hans van Scharen, a researcher and campaigner at the Corporate Europe Observatory said, citing a report the organization released this week.
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TRUST, TRUST, TRUST: When it comes to connecting with citizens on public health, trust is everything, delegates at Gastein heard. It’s vital for an effective health crisis response, pointed out Pamela Rendi-Wagner, the new head of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). “We have to build up trust and communication,” she said, “these are a very important pillar of preparedness for the next time.”