site.bta EU Commissioner Andriukaitis Says Bulgaria Should Comply with Recommendations within European Semester

EU Commissioner Andriukaitis Says Bulgaria Should Comply with Recommendations within European Semester

Sofia, December 10 (BTA) - European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis opened a visit to Bulgaria by a meeting with Health Minister Peter Moskov, the press service of the Health Ministry said on Thursday.

The guest stressed the need to comply with the European Commission's recommendations to Bulgaria given within the European Semester and the need of more active involvement of the health ministers in the preliminary discussions of country-specific recommendations within the European Council. Commissioner Andriukaitis undertook to provide expert support on the part of the European Commission for the implementation of the recommendations.

He underscored the importance of the initiative to extend life expectancy through measures for reducing chronic diseases, joined by almost all European countries. Minister Moskov noted that this is one of the goals of the reform of the Bulgarian healthcare and the results of these efforts will be perceived as criteria for successful implementation of the measures. Moskov also said that Bulgaria is finally about to fulfill an eight-year commitment - the adoption of the National Health Strategy. The document has been approved by the Cabinet and submitted to Parliament for adoption.

On Commissioner Andriukaitis's initiative, the sides paid special attention to cross-border cooperation in healthcare and the possibilities for its extension. Minister Moskov presented the progress in the Bulgarian-Romanian relations in this respect.

The brain drain from Eastern Europe to wealthier countries and the inequality in receiving medical care also featured on the agenda of the talks. Moskov familiarized the guest the problems encountered by Bulgaria with the guaranteeing of its immunization calendar.Minister Moskov appealed to the Commissioner to initiate debates for introducing mandatory vaccines at European level.