Political Relevance

The main aim of Article 168 of the Treaty, upon which the third Health Programme (2014-2020)  of the Union is based sets out the scope of EU action in the area of public health which is to carry out actions to support, coordinate or supplement the actions of the Member States. The 2016 work programme highlights the aim to facilitate access to better and safer healthcare for Union citizens.

This Joint Action fits clearly within the work programme objective and will clearly contribute to the implementation of Union legislation in the fields of human tissues and cells, blood, providing tools and training to increase harmonisation of those MS activities that regulate the areas of blood transfusion, transplantation of tissues and cells and assisted reproduction, in strong abidance with art 4.5 of Annex I of Regulation 282/2004 (Actions Objective 4 – Promoting health, preventing disease and fostering supportive environments for healthy lifestyles – point 2.2.4.2). These are fields of healthcare that involve a considerable amount of movement of donated substances of human origin between MS and also movement of citizens between MS for treatment, particularly in the field of assisted reproduction. The GAPP activities will contribute to greater assurance of receiving safe and effective treatments in these fields, regardless of the MS in which the treatment takes place, where initially highly specific technical knowledge and clinical expertise are requested for assessing and authorising innovative processes in blood and tissue establishments.