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More than 400 experts  took part in the Open Health Forum organized by DG SANCO of the European Commission on June 29 and 30 in Brussels. They represented different stakeholdres linked to health care: patiant organizations, practitioners, representatives of the national and regional governments, EU institutions. The Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy John Dalli, high level representatives of DG SANCO, DG REGIO and DG AGRI as well as members of European Parliament took part in the event. Several Roma organizations were also invited to the forum: Nicoleta Bitu (Romani Criss – Romania), Sebihana Skenderovska (National Roma Centrum – Macedonia), Nasime Salioska (Roma SOS – Macedonia), Stanislav Daniel (ERRC) and Deyan Kolev (Center Amalipe – Bulgaria).

The Forum discussed how the recently adopted strategy Together for Health could be mainstreamed within the main EU policies: cohesion, agricultural, environment policy, etc.  The issue of impact assesment, innovations in health and the role of different stakeholders were also specially discussed. The participants adopted Declaration ”Together for Health – Europe 2020 and beyond” that expresses their vision  for developing common health policy in EU.

The Roma representatives were ones of the most active participants in the Forum. They inssisted that an European health policy should contain access to health care of vulnerable groups, and especially of Roma as one of its top priorities. This is a smart investment in the future European economic grouth, explained Nicoleta Bitu. Such activities should be supported through the European structural funds and that is why health care and access of vulnerable groups to health care should be included through targeted measures in the Operational programs for the next planning period, stressed Deyan Kolev. These ideas were proposed by the Roma representatves in the final declaration and approved by the other participants.