This area is covered by Protocol 31 to the EEA Agreement and falls under Subcommittee IV.

The Working Group is currently primarily concentrating on EEA EFTA participation in the EU Health Programme 2008-2013. The Health Programme is the key means to implementing health objectives at European level and is an incentive measure designed to protect and improve human health, excluding any harmonisation of the laws and regulations of the Member States. The EEA EFTA States also participate in a programme on Drugs Prevention and Information (2007-2013).

A key focus for the Working Group in 2008 was the follow-up to the new EU Health Strategy (2007-2013) and in particular the proposal for a Directive on cross-border healthcare, which aims at clarifying current rules and case law in the field of patient mobility and patients' rights cross-border.

The EEA EFTA States also participate in the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

See also:

European Commission - Public Health

European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control