HHS and Commerce Deputy Secretaries Meet with European Commission Delegation to Discuss Public Health, Innovation, Bioterrorism, and Crisis Management

September 13, 2006 - On September 6, 2006, the Honorable Alex M. Azar II, Deputy Secretary of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Honorable David Sampson, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), and other Federal officials, met with members of the European Commission (EC) Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Affairs (DG-SANCO) and the Washington Delegation of the EC to discuss public health, innovation, bioterrorism, and crisis management.

The EC group included Isabelle Benoliel, Ph.D., LLM, Principal Advisor to the Director-General of DG-SANCO on Bioterrorism and Nutrition; Andrzej Rys, M.D., Director in Directorate C-Public Health and Risk Assessment of DG-SANCO; John Ryan, M.D., Head of the C2-Health Information Unit of DG-SANCO; and Stefan Schreck, Acting Head of the C3-Health Threats Unit of DG-SANCO.

DG-SANCO is comparable to a Ministry of Health for the European Union (EU), and covers three main areas: public health; food safety; and consumer affairs. The public-health and food-safety units are counterparts to the HHS Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the HHS Food and Drug Administration (FDA). DG-SANCO’s unit on consumer affairs and consumer protection is similar to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. While in Washington, the Delegation will attend meetings on health crises, including a potential pandemic influenza, and health information technology at a number of HHS agencies.

HHS has a longstanding partnership with the EU on public health. Collaborative work includes the global response to HIV/AIDS, global health security, pandemic-influenza preparedness and response, food safety, and biotechnology research.

Last revised: November 21, 2007