PAE news
The Written Declaration and next actions
In recent months, the vice-chairs of the Brain, Mind and Pain European Parliament interest Group, together which some co-initiators, have been working hard on Written Declaration 0112/2016 on access to employment for those affected by neurological disorders and chronic pain conditions.
Presented on 24 October 2016, they had until January 24th to get the signatures of half +1 of their MEP colleagues (that’s 376). Our members and their members also reached out to the national MEPs which was a big help. However, we didn’t have the wind at our backs. At that time, the discussion in the European Parliament about written declarations in general reached its climax and they voted to stop all written declarations.
Despite the negative attitude of MEPs towards written declarations, we achieved 178 signatures on our written declaration.
We would like to thank all the MEPs who signed the written declaration and all of those who did their best to get the written declaration accepted.
For EFNA and PAE this disappointment is no reason to stop with their activities. It will encourage them to put some extra efforts towards achieving positive results. This will start with the next BMP meeting, scheduled for March 8, where we will discuss the Social Pillar with MEPs and representatives from the Commission, as well as options for patients to influence them. PAE will have an active role in this as we are convinced that our members and their members will benefit from a well-developed Social Pillar.
