European Declaration on Epilepsy

The efforts of the epilepsy community to ensure the rights of people with epilepsy and to improve treatment opportunities and increase support for epilepsy research was rewarded when the European Parliament approved the Written Declaration on Epilepsy. On the final signing session on September 15, 2011, the Declaration was signed by 459 of the 736 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).

The Declaration outlines the enormity of the problem of epilepsy in Europe, the costs associated with this disease, the lack of adequate treatment faced by many Europeans with epilepsy, the discrimination they face and the underfunding of epilepsy research. The Declaration in turn calls on the European Commission and Council to prioritize epilepsy as a major disease, encourage expanded epilepsy research, ensure equal rights and protections for people with epilepsy and perform health impact assessments in all member states and across the European Union.

This groundbreaking Declaration was the result of exceptional effort of the European Advocates for Epilepsy Working Group of MEPs, the Joint Task Force from the International Bureau for Epilepsy and the Commission on European Affairs of the ILAE, ILAE and IBE European chapters and associations, and many individuals committed to epilepsy. This group spent countless hours working with MEPs of the member states to educate them about the issues faced by people with epilepsy and the effects that epilepsy has on society at large.

Special thanks go to the five MEPs who introduced the Declaration: Gay Mitchell (Ireland), Nirj Deva (England), Marian Harkin (Ireland), Peter Skinner (England) and Angelika Werthmann (Austria).

For further details about the issues of epilepsy in Europe and the benefits of the Declaration, please see the video message from Emilio Perucca, Co-chair of the Joint Task Force http://www.ilae-epilepsy.org/visitors/initiatives/EuropeanDeclaration2011.cfm

Edward Bertram, M.D.

University of Virginia

Information Officer, ILAE