Asthma & Allergy

The concept of “asthma” (“wind” or “to blow” in Greek) was used by Hippocrates for the first time, and shows the relationship between respiratory, and allergic diseases, and the environment. Though asthma and allergies have been known and treated for a very long time, 70 million people still live with asthma in Europe, 100 million Europeans suffer from allergic rhinitis and 7 million Europeans live with a food allergy.  

We strive for a Europe that supports timely action to overcome the many unmet needs of allergy and asthma patients.

The prevalence of allergy and asthma has been shown to increase with a country’s improving economic output and technological development. In the past decades, it has grown to alarming proportions in conjunction with rising environmental challenges, such as air pollution and climate change.  

This is why Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), European allergy and asthma patients and health professionals joined forces and launched the European Parliament Interest Group on Allergy and Asthma, to address what constitutes the most prevalent chronic diseases in Europe.

GOALS  

The Interest Group on Allergy and Asthma is meant to serve as a unifying platform in a heterogenous environment and wishes to:

• Contribute to EU policies on chronic diseases to reflect the needs of allergy and asthma patients and better prevent these diseases
• Improve EU policies against outdoor air pollution and promote action to tackle indoor pollution
• Foster European research in environmental health, with an emphasis on unmet needs of allergy and asthma research
• Inform on action needed on labelling of chemicals and allergens in consumer products
• Facilitate the exchange of best healthcare practices and recognition of Allergology as a full medical specialty across the EU, otherwise patients with allergy and asthma will not receive adequate treatment

SUPPORTERS

The European Parliament Interest Group on Allergy and Asthma was launched on 25 March 2015 as a result of a long-standing collaboration between the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA), and a group of forward-thinking Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), who are committed to fight against allergy and asthma in Europe.

CHAIR

Sirpa Pietikäinen

(EPP, Finland)

VICE CHAIRS

Busoi, Cristian-Silviu

(EPP, Romania)

Metz, Tilly

(Greens/EFA, Luxembourg)

Olekas, Juozas

(S&D, Lithuania)

MEP MEMBERS

Benifei, Brando

(S&D, Italy)

Borzan, Biljana

(S&D, Croatia)

Cerdas, Sara

(S&D, Portugal)

Ilčić, Ladislav

(ECR, Croatia)

Jerković, Romana

(S&D, Croatia)

Kefalogiannis, Manolis

(EPP, Greece)

Kountoura, Elena

(GUE/NGL, Greece)

Kympouropoulos, Stelios

(EPP, Greece)

Montserrat, Dolors

(EPP, Spain)

Patriciello, Aldo

(EPP, Italy)

Pedicini, Piernicola

 (Greens/EFA, Italy)

Schaldemose, Christel

(S&D, Denmark)

We would like to thank our former MEP supporters:

European Allergy and Asthma Youth Parliament

The European Allergy and Asthma Youth Parliament brings together young allergy and asthma patients between 16-26 years from all around Europe. It is a forum to share experiences and knowledge, to raise awareness for the pressing issues for young patients, and to inform European policymakers on how their work can support young people living with asthma and allergies. Find out more about the Youth Parliament here.

SECRETARIAT

The Secretariat of the Interest Group on Allergy and Asthma is co-run by EAACI and EFA, and works closely to voice the needs of people living with allergy and asthma.    

The European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) the largest medical association in the field of allergy and clinical immunology, uniting more than 9,000 academicians, research investigators and clinicians from 121 different countries. More information on EAACI work here.  www.eaaci.org 

The European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA) is a non-profit alliance of more than 40 allergy, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients’ organisations, representing over 400,000 patients in 25 European countries. www.efanet.org 

ACTIVITY

By uniting the voices of patients, healthcare professionals, and policy-makers both at European and national levels, we aim to bring about positive policy changes regarding:

• public health
• funding for research
• prevention and early diagnosis
• root cause analysis of diseases
• personalized medicine
• economic benefit

The Interest Group on Allergy and Asthma proactively promotes a better quality of life and access to care for the European citizens and patients, towards decision-makers in the European Commission, Member States, industry representatives, patients’ groups, academia as well as the public health community.

The Interest Group on Allergy and Asthma meets during the year to discuss key priority topics and provides a platform for all relevant stakeholders and policymakers to engage, share expertise and help align interests to trigger EU policy actions on allergy and asthma.

More information on the Interest Group on Allergy and Asthma here