Presidency to call extraordinary meeting of health ministers on swine influenza

The Czech EU Presidency will convene an extraordinary Council of EU health ministers to evaluate the possible threat posed by the swine influenza outbreak and to coordinate European efforts.

The Presidency has been following the situation very closely, is aware of the seriousness of the outbreak on the American continent, and is determined to minimize the risk of impact on the European Union. Therefore, it considers it necessary to evaluate the potential danger and all possible steps forward.

To that end, it immediately started to plan a series of meetings of member states. It is calling an urgent meeting of Member States’ attaches responsible for public health agenda, on Monday 27 April afternoon. This meeting will assess the current situation, suggest ways of coordinating the European response and start to prepare an extraordinary meeting of EU health ministers.
The extraordinary health Council will take place as soon as possible, in all probability on Thursday 30 April afternoon. The Presidency has also called on the European Commission to prepare specific proposals for the possible measures to be taken.

The Presidency considers it of paramount importance to coordinate EU’s response to the outbreak. Therefore, it will also discuss the issue today with EU ministers at the General Affairs Council.