Executive Committee meeting – 19 November 2020

Finance

Draft Budget 2021

The Executive Committee recommended the draft budget 2021 to be adopted by the General Assembly and took note of the accounts 30/09/2020.

Internal affairs

GA and Board, November 2020

The Executive Committee was updated about some last changes in the draft agendas.

Policies

Joint EMOs action on “European Health Union”

The Executive Committee agreed to proceed with a joint EMOs’ letter addressed to Commission President von der Leyen with a general statement on the European Health Union and a meeting request. The Executive Committee commissioned the Secretariat to work on a draft.
The initiative was discussed at the meeting of the EMOs’ presidents in October, at which FEMS and EANA had circulated drafts. Since then, a first set of policy and legislative proposals in the framework of the European Health Union have been published and an in-depth analysis is ongoing.

Croatian Medical Chamber survey request on patient ombudsman

The Executive Committee decided toforward the Croatian Medical Chamber’s question on the European patient ombudsman mechanisms to the membership.
Currently, there is no comprehensive overview available. This was confirmed also by the European Patients’ Forum (EPF).

Social Europe consultation

The Executive Committee adopted the CPME response to the consultation on Social Europe.

The consultation aims to scope future EU level action to further implement the European Pillar of Social Rights launched in 2017. The CPME response highlights the need to improve access to healthcare and to ensure safe and legal working conditions and employment environment for doctors.

Lancet Countdown 2020

The Executive Committee endorsed the Lancet Countdown EU Policy Brief 2020 focusing on climate change’s impact on cities, infectious diseases, and economic costs.
The recommendations target policymakers with the goal of taking advantage of the health opportunities of an effective response to climate change. The EU Policy Brief will be co-published by CPME and the Lancet Countdown on 7 December. CPME collaborated with the Lancet Countdown also with the 2019 and 2018 editions.

Monitoring

Data Governance Act

On 25 November, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a European Data Governance (also known as the Data Governance Act). The Regulation aims at increasing trust in data sharing (lack of trust currently being a major obstacle and resulting in high costs), creating new EU rules on neutrality to allow novel data intermediaries to function as trustworthy organizers of data sharing, facilitating the reuse of certain data held by the public sector (e.g. health data to advance research to find cures for rare or chronic diseases), providing means to Europeans to control the data they generate, by making it easier for companies and individuals to voluntarily make their data available for the wider common good under certain conditions. This is the first initiative of the 2020 European Strategy for Data. More dedicated proposals on data spaces are expected to follow 2021 complemented by a Data Act to foster data sharing among businesses, and between businesses and governments. For further information, please see here. CPME intends to analyze this proposal in more detail. The first scan so far points out to:

• -  the creation of an expert group called the “European Data Innovation Board” consisting of Member States, the European Commission, the EDPB, representatives of data spaces and other competent authorities

• -  the designation of specific competent authorities to monitor compliance of data sharing providers of certain rules, namely that they remain neutral in relation to the data exchanged (they cannot use data for other purposes). These competent authorities will be different than the data protection authorities.

• -  A new undefined concept of “pre-processed data” under Article 5 of the proposal consisting of rendering personal data anonymous or pseudonymized. Pursuant to the GDPR, the action of anonymization or pseudonymization is considering processing personal data and therefore under the GDPR regime.

Statement on the future ePrivacy Regulation

On 19 November, the EDPB adopted a statement on the future ePrivacy Regulation and the future role of supervisory authorities and the EDPB in this context. The EDPB expressed concerns about some new orientations of the discussions in the Council concerning the enforcement of the future ePrivacy Regulation. Many provisions of the GDPR and the ePrivacy Regulation are closely

intertwined. Consistent interpretation and enforcement of both sets of rules would be better fulfilled if the enforcement of those parts of the ePrivacy Regulation and the GDPR would be entrusted to the same authority. The EDPB also stressed the need to adopt the new Regulation as soon as possible. In 2017, CPME issued a statement in relation to the Commission’s ePrivacy Regulation Proposal, focusing on the impact that the regulation could have on medical confidentiality and health data privacy.

Joint Statement on Data Protection and Privacy in the COVID-19 Response

On 19 November 2020, the United Nations, IOM, ITU, OCHA, OHCHR, UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNOPS, UPU, UN Volunteers, UN Women, WFP and WHO support the adoption of this joint statement, in line with the UN personal Data Protection and Privacy Principles adopted by the UN System Organizations to support its use of data and technology in the COVID-19 response in a way that respects the right to privacy and other human rights and promotes economic and social development.

European Health Data Space (EHDS)

On 17 November, the EDPS published the ‘Preliminary Opinion 8/2020 on the European Health Data Space’. The EDPS highlights the essential elements that need to be considered when developing the EHDS. These include: the legal basis on which data processing in the space should rely (support is given for public interest legal basis as opposed to consent); the legitimacy of further data processing in the space; clarity in relation to the designation of actors involved in data processing within the space; clarity in relation to the categories of data processed within the space – the EDPS proposes that only anonymous and aggregate data should, as a rule, be processed; a ‘comprehensive security infrastructure’ and the utility of data protection impact assessments in assessing relevant risks needs to be addressed; consider the ethical use of data within the space and, where relevant, the involvement of ethics committees; a strong data governance approach; data to be processed by entities respecting European values and in line with considerations of ‘digital sovereignty; and achieve the implementation of data portability principles in the space. The positions taken in the Preliminary Opinion remain general. However, more specific positions are likely to be offered as more details on the shape and legal framework of the space emerge. CPME will adapt its draft position on the EHDS taking into account the EDPS preliminary opinion.

eHealth network meeting

On 12-13 November, the eHealth Network met to discuss the EU Health Data Space, the EU investment programmes related to health, COVID-19 coordinated actions, future activities, the eHealth Digital Service Infrasturcture’ (eHDSI), interoperability of patient summaries, cybersecurity, the eHealth Joint Action, and the priorities of the Portuguese presidency. Please find the meeting agenda, cover notes, presentations and adopted documents here. The eHealth Network is a voluntary network of Member States’ competent authorities responsible for eHealth and to facilitate interoperability, the network developed an IT tool called the eHDSI with the scope of exchanging health data under the Connection Europe facility programme.