Thank you to all our European supporters who have written to their MEPs regarding the two recent European Commission consultations and the worrisome prospect of mandatory vaccination. The resulting ENVI committee resolution, adopted with 55 votes for, 1 against and 3 abstentions, focuses on strengthening vaccination takeup in Europe. Following discussion it was minimally amended to include only a few points made clear by many citizens on the consultation questionnaire and open feedback, including a demand for transparency and independent safety studies into adjuvants as well as a strong recommendation: 'The confidentiality of deliberations of the European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) evaluation panel should also be lifted, and scientific and clinical data be made public.’ We hope they will concede further before the final vote by the full house in Strasbourg in April or May. Here is the ENVI Committee press release: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20180319IPR00021/health-committee-meps-warn-against-dropping-vaccination-rates It is therefore now vital to write (either again or for the first time) to your regional Member of the European Parliament as soon as possible. Here below is a suggested follow-up letter, which doesn't depend on whether or not your MEP replied to a first letter (If you have not written before please do send this one and just remove/adjust the first lines). Emails have already been sent to hundreds of MEPs in many European countries but this is just the beginning. We must continue to urge our MEPs to consider the evidence before voting for any recommendation to make vaccines compulsory across all member states. If vaccines are already mandated in your country, this information should challenge the current legislation there, because it contains new, breaking information from the Italian military linking vaccines with autoimmune disease. Please use our suggested letter below for inspiration and add a brief statement giving your own personal experience if you can, and don't forget to copy in board@efvv.eu. Secondly, the EFVV petition for informed vaccination consent has now exceeded 166,000 signatures! Please continue to share it as it shows the strength and breadth of feeling on this topic in Europe. https://www.change.org/p/european-parliament-european-commission-council-of-the-european-union-respect-promote-and-protect-freedom-of-informed-vaccination-consent-throughout-europe Lastly, the EFVV has been listed on the European Commission’s ‘Transparency Register’ and several of our members have been accredited to enter the European Parliament, attend meetings and lobby on our behalf: two from Belgium and one from the UK so far. Our first representative managed to attend the ENVI vote and make initial contacts with MEPs and their assistants. Your support would be greatly appreciated to pay the expenses needed for our volunteer members to travel to Brussels or Strasbourg. We would be most grateful for donations using the ‘Donate’ function on our website: http://www.efvv.eu. Suggested MEP email text: Dear (MEP) I recently wrote to you, my regional representative in Europe, but haven’t had a clear reply giving your views on compulsory vaccines. There has since been breaking new science. Just last month, the Italian Uranium Committee found that vaccines are strongly associated with autoimmune diseases and advised that the Italian Military not receive more than 5 vaccines at one time and that they undergo a pre-vaccine test for susceptibility (1). Surely then multiple vaccines should not be mandated for babies? I am greatly concerned that the EU will ‘harmonise’ current vaccine policies and call for a vote on compulsory vaccination in all EU states without MEPs being fully informed of the higher risk for autoimmune disease, a life-long debilitating condition. Based on figures from the United States, where the population is lesser but childhood vaccination numbers and the recorded incidence of autoimmune disease higher than in Europe, the financial costs alone are looking to exceed 100 billion dollars (approximately 80 billion euros) (2).
 Vaccines have indeed been considered a useful public health tool, with the as yet unproven assumption of safety and effectiveness, but the evidence that compulsory vaccines will increase uptake is lacking. In fact, MEP Piernicola Pedicini (EFDD, IT), a member of the European Parliament's environment, public health and food safety committee (ENVI) has made a case against compulsory vaccines: https://www.theparliamentmagazine.eu/articles/opinion/should-vaccines-really-be-compulsory. This is a further reason to challenge any moves to strengthen ‘vaccine hesitancy’ in law. Do you not agree that in light of the link between vaccines and autoimmune disease, the long-term effect on European's health and the substantial financial impact on our society must be discussed before compulsory vaccination is advised or even considered? Please email the chair of EFVV, Dr Kris Glaubomme, on board@efvv.eu to add your voice to the group of MEPs calling for transparency and due diligence in this debate on the health of EU citizens. N.B. The EFVV’s human rights petition for informed consent has been translated into 13 languages and now signed by over 166,000 concerned European citizens: https://www.change.org/p/european-parliament-european-commission-council-of-the-european-union-respect-promote-and-protect-freedom-of-informed-vaccination-consent-throughout-europe I look forward to reading your response. Many Thanks, (your signature) REFERENCES: [1] Findings from the Italian Uranium Commission (7.2.18) that the number of vaccines administered together should be limited due to the increased risk of autoimmune disease. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WuCxYpIwQJFjh1fzwLXgf6krtOEESFUQ; p. 154 [2] American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, Inc.: https://www,aarda.org/diseaselist/ and http://www.mdmag.com/medical-news/autoimmune-diseases-cost-us-more-than-100-billion-annually (28 March 2018) **************** With many thanks from everyone at EFVV