What are the benefits of EU networking? Francesco Longu Communications Officer

1. What are the benefits of EU networking? Francesco Longu Communications Officer European Public Health Alliance EU Information, Training and Scholarship Programme Third Training Seminar Zadar, Croatia, 19 March 2005

2. Workshop outline • First part (10:45 - 12:00): > About EPHA > Q and As - Debate • Second part (13:30 - 15:00): > Case study: The Social Platform > Case study: The Green 9 > EU networking: a SWOT analysis > Q and As - Debate

3. About EPHA • A network of 107 non governmental and not-for-profit organisations across Europe working on health and health-related issues • Our mission is to improve the health of European citizens and to increase their participation in EU policy-making

4. EPHA organisational structure (1/3) • The Annual General Assembly > Convened once a year (extraordinary meetings are possible) > Discusses the broad policy of EPHA > Elects the Executive Committee > Members vote according to their membership category > May include consultation meetings and/or training seminars for members

5. The Annual General Assembly

6. EPHA organisational structure (2/3) • The Executive Committee > Seven people elected for a two-year period - gender equality and balance between NGOs and professionals are required > Sets out the annual work programme > Sets priorities and targets for EPHA > Reviews EPHA financial management and annual accounts > Supervises the EPHA Secretariat and appoints the appropriate staff

7. EPHA organisational structure (3/3) • The EPHA Secretariat > Manages the “day to day” work of EPHA > Ensures that the full work programme of the organisation is carried out efficiently and effectively > Actively contributes to the development of good organisational practice > Currently six staff members, located in Brussels • Working Groups • Policy Coordination Meetings

8. EPHA staff in action

9. EPHA members (1/3) EPHA has two categories of membership: • Full members are Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) active in the public health sector. Full members have two votes at the Annual General Assembly • Associate members are other not-for-profit organisations, professional bodies, academic institutions and local or regional authorities. Associate members have one vote at the Annual General Assembly • EPHA membership fees are based on the income of the member organisation

10. EPHA members (2/3) • Health advocates • Disease specific patient groups • Academic researchers • Health professionals (e.g. doctors, nurses and pharmacists) • Consumer groups • Environment organisations • Development organisations

11. EPHA members (3/3) • International networks • European networks • National organisations • Complete list of EPHA members: http://www.epha.org/r/14

12. EPHA members: rights and obligations • EPHA members have the right to: > receive copies of the statutes and of the internal rules of the association > receive appropriate notice of all General Assemblies of the Association, to be represented at those Assemblies and to exercise their vote in accordance with their membership category > enjoy the benefits of the information service provided > be consulted, in the preparation of EPHA Position Papers > participate in any appropriate working groups, and attend EPHA seminars or training sessions

13. EPHA members: rights and obligations • EPHA members have to: > Notify one named individual to the secretariat to be their point of contact with EPHA and normally their representative at EPHA meetings. The contact person shall ensure that information concerning EPHA's activities is circulated throughout their own organisation > Share the EPHA mission statement and objectives > Respect the confidentiality of internal EPHA documents and website passwords

14. EPHA membership benefits (1/3) • Electronic Newsletter: on a monthly basis a newsletter is sent by e-mail. Regular features include recent EU policy developments, secretariat activities, members’ activities and forthcoming events on public health related issues • Health Alerts: short alerts are sent to members via e-mail whenever an important development on health-related EU policy takes place

15. EPHA membership benefits (2/3) • Members Only section of our website: apart from the information available to the general public on EPHA’s website, members have access to internal policy and strategy information on website pages, which are accessible only with a membership password • Newslists: special briefings on particular subjects of interest to a certain group of members are provided via an electronic mailing list

16. EPHA membership benefits (3/3) • Daily information help desk • Visibility in EU policy making circles • Support for advocacy work • Representation and participation at European and international fora

17. A special benefit: http://www.epha.org

18. How does EPHA work? (1/2) • Advocacy: >Working groups. At present there are five ongoing working groups on the following subjects: Alcohol, Food and Nutrition, Health and Environment, Health and Enlargement, and Pharmaceuticals >Policy Co-ordination Meetings. Meeting every two months in Brussels, this group is open to all EPHA members. Contributions to the meeting are also received via e-mail • Information exchange • Membership services

19. How does EPHA work? (2/2) • Lobbying: > EU institutions • Networking: > Other health NGOs > Other thematic NGOs • Tracking policy issues: > Day to day analysis > Mailings - Briefings

20. Consulting members on major policy • The officers agree a topic on which a policy should be developed • The secretariat, one of the members, or an outside consultant, is invited to produce a first draft • Members are invited to comment • The revised text is re-submitted to the membership, with a clear deadline for any last-minute response • The Executive Committee then endorses the final text as EPHA policy. It may reject the proposed policy/text; or, alternatively, allow it to be adopted along with a minority report • The object of the exercise is to achieve agreement by consensus

21. Consulting members: an example • EPHA is involved in the policy work to ensure that a new EU Directive on Services in the Internal Market will not undermine health services • The AGA put the issue as a work priority • The Secretariat spread members’ positions • The Secretariat met with EU policy-makers • Awareness grew rapidly • Many policymakers now share EPHA’s vision • More information: http://www.epha.org/r/83

22. What does EPHA stand for? (1/2) • Health protection as a goal in all EU policy-making - e.g. health impact assessments for all proposed legislation • Involvement of citizens in decision-making related to their own health • Equal access to good quality healthcare for all EU citizens

23. What does EPHA stand for? (2/2) • Addressing health inequalities. (Children born in poor areas have a shorter, less healthy life than those born in richer parts of the same city, region and country) • Ensuring that EU internal policies (e.g. competition, environment, transport, energy, agriculture, industry) and external policies (e.g. trade, development, external aid) actually contribute towards better health

24. What are the goals of EPHA? • Develop key consultative role for civil society as partners in health • Promoting healthy public policies throughout EU activities • EU Policy to be based on the highest common denominator rather than lowest.

25. What does the EU treaty state? Article 152 of the Amsterdam Treaty states: • “A high level of health protection shall be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community policies and activities” • But the EU must respect Member State responsibilities for organisation and delivery of health care

26. What does the new Constitutional Treaty state? • Article 179 – Public Health as coordinating, complimentary or supporting action “Action by the Union, which shall complement national policies, shall be directed towards improving public health, preventing human illness and diseases, and obviating sources of danger to physical and mental health”. “The Union shall complement the Member States' action in reducing drugs-related health damage, including information and prevention”. “Union action shall respect the responsibilities of the Member States for the definition of their health policy and for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care. The responsibilities of the Member States shall include the management of health services and medical care and the allocation of the resources assigned to them”. • Article goes on to mention “the protection of public health regarding tobacco and the abuse of alcohol”.

27. What EU rights to health exist? • “Everyone has the right of access to preventive healthcare and the right to benefit from medical treatment under the conditions established by national law and practices” Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, Adopted in Nice, 12/2000

28. Why health needs to be addressed at EU level • Many EU policies have an impact – direct or indirect – on the health of EU citizens • Implementation of internal market legislation is de-facto creating policy on health related issues • The European Commissioner has greater powers to promote animal welfare than to protect human health

29. Networking the networks

30. The Social Platform • The Platform of European Social NGOs was established in 1995 to support and add value to the work of its member organisations • It brings together 40 non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which are European federations and networks

31. The Social Platform The Social Platform and its members are committed to the advancement of the principles of equality, solidarity, non discrimination and the promotion and respect of fundamental rights for all, within Europe and in particular the European Union.

32. What does the Social Platform do? • Capacity building: helping its members develop and improve their work • Civil dialogue: working together to gain better access to the EU institutions • Campaigning: developing common positions and lobbying the EU • Communication: raising awareness of Social NGOs and their work

33. The Platform’s organisational structure

34. The Platform members • Full members: > Networks or federations with a European character > Non-profit organisations > Networks or federations active in the social sector > Networks or federations with distinct legal personality > Networks or federations that can demonstrate their representativity and that are structured and managed in a democratic way • Associate members: > Organisations satisfying all the full members membership criteria and not wishing to endorse all the responsibilities of full members > Other organisations satisfying criteria above but not having a European character

35. The Green 9 • The Green 9 consists of the nine leading environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) active at EU level: • BirdLife International • Climate Action Network Europe (CAN-Europe) • European Environmental Bureau (EEB) • EPHA Environment Network (EEN) • European Federation for Transport and the Environment (T&E) • Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) • Greenpeace • International Friends of Nature (IFN) • WWF European Policy Office (WWF-EPO)

36. How do the Green 9 work? • The G9 work with the EU law-making institutions the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers to ensure that the environment is placed at the heart of policymaking. • This includes working with their member organisations in the Member States to facilitate their input into the EU decision-making process.

37. How do the Green 9 work? • While campaigning at EU level, Green 9 NGOs: • encourage the full implementation of EU environmental laws and policies in the Member States • lobby for new environmental proposals, as appropriate • work with the EU institutions to ensure that policies under consideration are as environmentally effective as possible • promote EU environmental leadership in the global political arena

38. The G9 organisational structures • No statutes • No secretariat • No offices • No website • No formal decision-making process • Closed membership, or at least, no formal membership procedures

39. Still... • Both the Social Platform and the Green 9 are two examples of efficient and effective networks • ...both met with President Barroso on the same day!

40. EU networking: a SWOT analysis • Strengths • Weaknesses • Opportunites • Threats

41. EU networking: a SWOT analysis

42. EU networking: a SWOT analysis Strengths: • Recognition, credibility • Influence • Independence • Cost reduction • Expertise

43. EU networking: a SWOT analysis Weaknesses: • Diversity of interests which might sometimes compete • Lowest common denominator • Communication problems • Poor quality of outcomes • Possibility of one organisation dominating the others

44. EU networking: a SWOT analysis Opportunities: • Mutual learning • Creation of consensus • Learn how to negotiate

45. EU networking: a SWOT analysis Threats: • Passive participation of some members • Poor communication • Bureaucracy • Lack of transparency

46. Take home messages: • There are many different types of networks • Networks are popular as they provide more benefits than difficulties • Networking is about time and commitment • Networking is an additional layer, it does not substitute your work • Networking is a conscious, rational decision your organisation has to take

47. European Public Health Alliance 39-41 Rue d’Arlon B-1000 Brussels Belgium Tel: +32 2 230 30 56 Fax: +32 2 233 38 80 epha@epha.org www.epha.org