Monika Kosinska, Secretary General of the European Public Health Alliance on challenges and opportunities in Europe at Alcohol Action Ireland's conference "Time Please... For Change"

1. Challenges and Opportunities in Europe
Monika Kosinska
Secretary General
European Public Health Alliance
Dublin, 1 November 2012

2. Introduction

Brief overview of the EU

Alcohol in the EU

Challenges for health policy

Opportunities for health advocates

Conclusions
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Dublin, 1 November 2012

3. European Public
Health Alliance

Coalition from across the EU
o Public health non-governmental organisations
o Health professionals’ associations
o Patient groups
o Academic organisations
o Population or disease-specific groups
o Others
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Dublin, 1 November 2012

4. Understanding the EU

Main goals of the European Union
o Peace and security
o Economic recovery and development
…via economic integration and dismantling
interwar protectionist measures
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Dublin, 1 November 2012

5. Understanding Brussels

‘Pristine’ policy environment (detached from
‘real’ citizens)

Economic vs socia/environment/health

Lobbying

Legal & technocratic vs political & democratic

Dominance of Think Tanks, lawyers, compared
to size of civil service
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Dublin, 1 November 2012

6. Understanding EU
alcohol policy

Alcohol is key EU commodity
o Agricultural subsidies
o Promotional funds for wine
o Internal market excise law
o International trade agreements and export good
o Marketing across borders
o Alcohol harm strategies…
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Dublin, 1 November 2012

7. Complex policy
context

20 years of economic thinking in question

Europe in decline vs other regions

Technology developing quicker than policy

Budgets and public spending crisis

Financial -> Economic -> Political crisis

Political confidence in private sector low
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Dublin, 1 November 2012

8. Challenges

Legal:
o Litigious sector + confidence from tobacco wins
o MUP is public health tipping point…
o
Economic
o Tension between two sets of rights
o
Political
o ‘Jobs and growth’
o Strong lobbying from ‘key’ sector 8
Dublin, 1 November 2012

9. Opportunities

Evidence has caught up – need to watch the
Think Tanks

North Europe / South Europe gap is closing

Growing confidence from other regions –
pushing back

Appetite for intervention – stretching regulatory
muscle (taxes, MUP…)

Cracks in the economic-dominant hegemony
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Dublin, 1 November 2012

10. Conclusions

MUP is the most important public health case in
30 years

EU trend is in favour of health BUT need to be
ready to capitalise on this

2013 / 2014 very important for alcohol – (MUP,
alcohol strategy, audio-visual media directive)

2013 / 2014 will set the stage until 2020
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11. We need to keep
an eye on the goal
Identifying the Framing the Policy Implementing Evaluating
problem policy issues decision decision decision
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Dublin, 1 November 2012