Commissioner Kyprianou visits USA to discuss obesity, pandemic preparedness and GMOs (plus link to MEMO with schedule)

Brussels, 15 April 2005

Markos Kyprianou, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, will visit the United States from 17-21 April. He will use the trip to discuss a broad range of issues with his US counterparts including obesity, trans-Atlantic co-operation on tackling pandemics and co-operation with the new European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control . GMOs will also be discussed, in light of the recent announcement that the unauthorised GMO maize Bt10 has been inadvertently released onto the US market and subsequently exported to the EU.

Commissioner Kyprianou will begin his programme in Washington with a speech at the 7th annual meeting of the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue (TACD), dealing with some of the prominent consumer protection issues currently being addressed in both the EU and US. The US will be represented by Tony Wayne, acting Undersecretary for Economic Affairs. In the afternoon, Mr Kyprianou will discuss obesity and nutrition, pandemic preparedness and cooperation between the ECDC and the US CDC with the Secretary of the US Health and Human Services Department Michael Leavitt. The unintended release of Syngenta’s unauthorised B10 maize will be among the issues discussed in the Commissioner’s meetings with FDA Commissioner Lester Crawford and USDA Secretary Mike Johanns on Monday afternoon.

On Tuesday, the Commissioner will address the OECD Workshop on “Consumer Dispute Resolution and Redress” at the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). At a lunch hosted by the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA), Mr Kyprianou will look at the problems facing both the EU and US food industries, and common approaches that could be taken to tackle these issues. Tuesday afternoon will entail meetings on Capitol Hill, including discussions with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Senator Chuck Grassley on BSE, GMOs and sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) issues.

The Commissioner’s schedule on Wednesday foresees an address to the European Institute on shared public health concerns – from bioterrorism to tobacco. Commissioner Kyprianou will then fly to Atlanta, where he will visit the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and meet CDC Director Julie Gerberding. This will be an opportunity for him to hear ideas and experiences on tackling the threat of communicable diseases, in light of the official inauguration of the new ECDC next month.

For the full programme of Commissioner Kyprianou’s visit see: MEMO/05/1

Visit of Commissioner Markos Kyprianou to Washington and Atlanta, April 17-21 http:///europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleases Action.do?reference=MEMO/05/1&format=H TML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
MEMO/05/1

Item source: I P/05/433 Date: 15/04/2005 Previous Item Back to Titles Print Item