mr president i would like to thank the rapporteur and the shadow rapporteurs for their good work on this report
whilst this report on alzheimer's is very important we know that the power for implementing policy lies mainly with the member states
but the ageing population is one of the most pressing challenges for the future and we know that dementia is one of the main causes of disability and dependence among the elderly
currently the main responsibility of care tends to lie with the spouse or child of the dementia patient which can be extremely hard work and emotionally gruelling
this is why our amendments that call on the commission to consider the opportunities for creating jobs from a better care sector in the eu twenty twenty strategy are so important
it is also important that we focus not only on providing research funding into new drugs to treat diseases but also look at simple preventive measures that everybody can take such as a change in diet and lifestyle
nutrition is increasingly being shown to be an important factor in the development of alzheimer's and other dementias and we need to dedicate some of our resources into investigating this further
the cost of dementias in the eu was eur one hundred and thirty billion in two thousand and five and it affected nineteen million people that is sufferers and carers
so it makes sense both morally and economically to ensure that we put more funds into work into this terrible disease
