Tobacco Control and The Council of Europe: the Potential and Limits of the Collective Complaints Procedure of the European Social Charter.

The role of the Council of Europe (CoE) in tobacco control remains largely unexplored. This paper aims to fill this gap, focusing on the CoE's European Social Charter. Article 11 of the Charter protects the right to health, and adequate tobacco control measures are necessary to respect this article. This paper examines the potential and limits of the Collective Complaints procedure, one of the two monitoring mechanisms of the Charter, as a means to evaluate the compliance of national tobacco control measures with Article 11. It demonstrates that, so far, this mechanism has never been used in this way. However, although the Collective Complaints procedure presents several drawbacks, it should not be underestimated. Indeed, it possesses certain features, such as the collective nature of the complaint and the lack of the requirement of the exhaustion of domestic remedies, which might make it a particularly suitable tool for the abovementioned purpose.

Patient empowerment of people living with rare diseases. Its contribution to sustainable and resilient healthcare systems.

The notion of empowerment is linked to patients' everyday life and is the base allowing for the patient engagement through which individuals and communities are able to express their needs, are involved in decision-making, take action to meet those needs. In the field of rare diseases, empowerment strategies have greater value due to low prevalence, lack of expertise, poor quality of life. Avenues to patient empowerment are: health literacy and capacity-building; shared decision-making; support to self-management. Patient empowerment is recognised as key enabler in creating sustainability as addressing challenges faced by modern healthcare systems in terms of effectiveness, access and resilience. It is recommended to develop a comprehensive EU roadmap on patient empowerment including specific recommendations, taking stock of good practices. This holistic approach should lead to a society where all actors are fulfilled human beings and unmet needs are addressed in compliance with fundamental human rights.