Chronic respiratory diseases account for more than 315,000 Europeans dying every year. On top of this they pose a huge burden on EU national health systems.

ENSP asks Members of European Parliament to take action now by signing the Written Declaration on Chronic Respiratory Diseases. 

Background:

The Written Declaration is a statement, which calls the European Council and the Commission to act for better Prevention, Diagnosis, Care and Rehabilitation in Chronic Respiratory Diseases and more specifically it calls for:

• Decreasing the economic burden of chronic respiratory diseases on national healthcare systems, and ensuring a high level of protection of citizens’ health; 
• Boosting research on the causes of chronic respiratory diseases and
• Sharing best practices and studying the possibility of a comprehensive strategy for meeting the challenges posed by chronic respiratory diseases.

The declaration has the possibility of giving great political recognition to tackling chronic respiratory diseases and could lead to an EU action plan on the topic, with coordination mechanisms for Member States and more fund allocated to respiratory research. 

To be adopted, the declaration has to be signed by the majority of all Members of European Parliament (376 MEPs out of 751) within 3 months. To realise this objective, we very much need your help to incite national MEPs to sign.

What you can do:

• Check who has signed the declaration to see if your MEP is already a supporter
• If not, in two clicks you can find your MEP at the European Parliament Website
• Send an email to your MEP asking to sign the written declaration 115/2016 on chronic respiratory diseases – see draft attached
• Leave a comment in your MEP Facebook page asking to sign the written declaration 115/2016 on chronic respiratory diseases
• Tweet your MEP with the #BreatheMission hashtag, asking to sign the written declaration 115/2016 on chronic respiratory diseases – see draft attached
• Did you get a response from an MEP? Please let us know by email to Daniela.morghenti@efanet.org 

Thank you for your support!

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions.

Participate in the event on the ABC to lead Actions on Chronic Respiratory Diseases in Europe

On 11 January 2016, ENSP and partners organise an event in the European Parliament, Brussels, from 15-16.30. Read more and register here.