On 6 February 2009, the European Parliament adopted Written Declaration 80/2008 on the priorities in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, in which MEPs called on the European Commission and the Member States to recognise Alzheimer’s disease as a European public health priority and to develop a European Action Plan. According to this important call, the European Union should promote pan-European research and collaborate in order to improve early diagnosis and the quality of life of people with dementia and their carers. Furthermore, the Declaration explicitly recognised the important role of Alzheimer associations and asked for their activities to be supported.
The Written Declaration was launched by MEPs Françoise Grossetête (France), John Bowis (United Kingdom), Katalin Levai (Hungary), Jan Tadeusz Masiel (Poland) and Antonios Trakatellis (Greece) and gathered the support of 465 Members of the European Parliament from all 27 countries of the European Union and all political groups. Speaking on behalf of her colleagues, Françoise Grossetête stated, “As Chairperson of the European Alzheimer’s Alliance, I am greatly encouraged that my colleagues in the European Parliament share my conviction that the European Union cannot ignore the lives of the 6.1 million Europeans who currently have Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. Our Alliance was created with the aim of making dementia a European priority and I am truly delighted that our campaign has resulted in this great success. I am convinced that this initiative will result in greater European collaboration on Alzheimer’s disease and concrete measures which will improve the quality of life of people with dementia and carers alike”.
Jean Georges, Executive Director of Alzheimer Europe welcomed the European Parliament initiative and stated, “Alzheimer Europe would like to thank the authors of the Written Declaration for their incredible support in passing this important initiative and in convincing their colleagues that the time for European action on dementia is now. The European Parliament has clearly demonstrated that Alzheimer’s disease does not recognise any geographical borders or political differences. To have support from all 27 European countries and all political groups in the European Parliament for our campaign has been truly awe-inspiring. We promise to give our continued support to the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Member States for the development of a European Action Plan”.
The written declaration and the full list of signatories can be downloaded below.