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Parliamentary question - E-007386/2016(ASW)Parliamentary question
E-007386/2016(ASW)

Answer given by Mr Andriukaitis on behalf of the Commission

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global challenge with serious implications for the economy and human health. Each year, drug resistant infections result in an estimated 25,000 patient deaths and cause EUR 1.5 billion worth of healthcare and productivity losses in the EU. The evidence suggests that these costs will increase exponentially in the absence of decisive corrective actions.

The Council conclusions, adopted in June 2016 under the Dutch Presidency, call for a reinforced EU strategy against AMR[1] and a new and comprehensive EU Action Plan on AMR based on the One-Health approach. At global level, AMR is also high on the political agenda within G7, G20 and the United Nations (UN). The meeting on AMR held at the UN General Assembly on 21 September 2016 marked an important milestone for high-level global political commitment against AMR.

The evaluation of the current Action Plan against AMR[2] adopted in 2011, has shown that this Plan provided the political stimulus for concrete actions within Member States, strengthened international cooperation and a framework to guide and coordinate activities on AMR at international level.

However, this evaluation published on 24 October 2016[3], has also shown that the AMR problem is persisting and continued action is needed to tackle it. Therefore the Commission will prepare the new AMR Action plan in the first half of 2017 in order to reinforce the One-Health approach and make the EU a ‘best-practice’ region on AMR, to give a stronger push to innovation and research for the development of rapid diagnostic tests and alternatives to antimicrobials, and to actively contribute to broader actions aimed at tackling AMR at global level.