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The European Parliament elections are only a few short months away, while the as-it-stands deadline of 29 March for Britain to leave the EU is even closer.  In the first case, manifestos from political parties, organizations and lobby groups are either being prepared or are already out there, telling the same relevant stories, asking the same important asks and praying that someone actually reads them this year, rašo Europos aljansas už Pritaikomo Medicina (EAPM) vykdomasis direktorius Denisas Horgan.   

Hopefully, whole forests of trees weren’t cut down in vain. Meanwhile, Brexit amendments, suggestions and counter-suggestions have been bombarding Theresa May (with more to come in the next weeks) to such an extent that she would arguably benefit from a tin hat and, possibly, even a white flag (she clearly doesn’t want a blue, starry one). But even a white flag might end up with bullet holes in it at this rate.  For sure, Mrs May now has a mandate from the House of Commons to go back to Brussels (plus a gentle, non-binding warning from the House that the majority do not want a no-deal departure).

The major sticking point is that, while nobody wants a hard border in Ireland, equally nobody seems to have a clue how to solve the issue. The ‘backstop’ is exactly what it suggests it is, not a solution in-and-of itself, but simply a measure to keep the border open on the island of Ireland until some bright spark has a brainwave and comes up with a long-term solution.

The big ‘lightbulb’ moment is yet to happen and nobody in Brussels, or any other European capital for that matter, is holding their breath. It’s more ‘lighthouse’ than ‘lightbulb’ right now, to be honest, with the big searchlight having gone out in the middle of a force-nine gale, and May’s rickety boat full of plans in real danger of being dashed against the unrelenting rocks.

Unfortunately for the British prime minister, the EU is currently avoiding doing anything regarding the UK’s imminent departure, keeping its cards close to its chest and adopting a poker face as it waits for the House of Parliament to salvage what it can from the prime minister’s busted flush.

To be fair, if a country sticks two fingers up at all 27 of its mates and wades in to a stormy sea all alone, the other guys are more likely to sit back and watch with a carton of popcorn as the waves tear everything apart, rather than get the rescue lifeboats mustered.  Granted, everything is about aspiration. And everybody seems to have their own idea of what kind of Brexit they want. But the wish-list has gone up the chimney in a way reminiscent of the notes to Santa shoved in the fire and sent up in smoke allegedly bound for Lapland.

In reality, how often did any of us actually get that bike we wanted when leaping out of bed on Christmas Day full of joy and expectation? It was more likely to be a Lego set and a couple of satsumas.  The point is, it pays to be realistic, at least some of the time. One could argue that a lot of British voters in the referendum were either not realistic about the implications of leaving the EU, or didn’t actually care how it was done.

reklama

Nice work. It turns out that businesses (both in the UK and 27 Member States) certainly care how its done, but an orderly departure is looking less-and-less likely. The EU has very little it can do to help, if anything at all (although never say never when it comes to last-minute wheeler-dealing in the Berlaymont and Council).

One thing is certain, very few people are going to get the Brexit they want any time soon. Let’s hope our worthy organizations have better luck. Now is clearly the perfect time to try to engage with politicians already in their seats and likely to get re-elected in May, as well as those who have their own aspirations about taking a seat in the hemicycle, come the next legislature.  In the arena of health, we all know what to expect.

Or we should, as healthcare is high on every citizen’s agenda (hence the strength of the ‘£350 million more per-week for the NHS’ whopper that went on the side of a ‘Leave’ campaign battle bus).  There will be calls for lung-cancer screening programmes, and better access for patients to the best healthcare available, and there will be cries for cross-border health care and electronic health records to become an every day reality rather than the pipe dreams they currently are, at least to all intents and purposes.  Drugs prices will be criticized for being too high, medical supplies could end up being too low (especially in the UK), swathes of cash will be demanded for health-care innovation, and calls for agreement between member states on the crunch issues in respect of HTA will ring from the rafters as each manifesto lands with a thump! on some walnut table.

These are all worthy goals, and worthy of the aspirations of those pushing to reach them. But it will take more than tabled amendments and tabled manifestos, it may as well be table tennis. Ping! Pong! Ping! Pong! as well-meaning wishes and actual reality are batted back and forth. It’s often true that if you don’t ask then you don’t get, but its also often true that you can ask until you’re blue in the face and still not get.

Certainly, when it comes to healthcare, alongside all the leafleting, stakeholders need to work together to put pressure on policymakers to make the many necessary changes.   Because let’s be honest, if those involved in the Brexit process in the UK had worked together between themselves and alongside others, Theresa May’s government might not now be clinging on for dear life to a battered boat while waiting for someone, anyone, to switch the big lighthouse lamp back on.

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