President Ilves pays a working visit to Portugal

TALLINN - The Estonian Head of State, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, went on a working visit to Portugal to chair the consecutive session of the European Commission’s e-health work group today and to meet the President of Portugal.

This spring, President Ilves accepted the proposal of the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, Vice President Neelie Kroes, and EU Commissioner John Dalli, to chair a high-level advisory work group, which is tasked with shaping the future of e-health in the EU. To date, the work group has met in Budapest and Tallinn. The opening chapter of the final report will be completed at the Lisbon meeting; presentations on novel e-solutions, which have not yet been realized in practice, will also be discussed. The final report of the e-health work group, which suggests possible solutions for promoting a contemporary health care system in the European Union, is expected to be completed in spring of 2012.

On Dec. 16, President Ilves together with the Portuguese Head of State, Anibal Cavaco Silva, will discuss the cooperation between both countries and the financial and credit situation that has developed in the EU as a consequence of the global credit crunch; they will also importantly discuss the possible measures for solving problems.