[Ip-health] EU set to table new health services law end 2006

[Michelle Childs]

We witnessed at the WHO General Assembly the Commissions push for a
leading role on public health issues. Here is another attempt- although it
is not clear at this stage how broad the new Directive will be.

<snip>
The European Commission is planning to table a new directive on opening up
the health services market by the end of 2006.
........

Technically the EU only has a supporting role in the public health sphere
and the current treaties are quite clear about the rights of member states
in health issues - which are very linked to national sovereignty.

However, the commission can get around the issue via internal market rules
and has traditionally been strongly backed by the European Court of
Justice.

Michelle

http://euobserver.com/9/21790/?rk=1
EU set to table new health services law end 2006
08.06.2006 - 09:53 CET | By Honor Mahony
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission is planning to table a new
directive on opening up the health services market by the end of 2006.

Buoyed up by several decisions coming from the bloc's top court,
particularly a recent one on patient mobility, the commission has already
set the process in motion.

"We will come with a separate proposal on health services preferably by
the end of the year", Margaritis Schinas, head of the health
commissioner's cabinet, told EUobserver.

He said that the commission "has already triggered the process" with the
full set of 25 commissioners set to debate the scope of any proposal
before the summer break.

He pointed out that both the health and the internal market commissioners
had announced in the European Parliament that that they were going to come
forward with a proposal.

The Brussels executive has been given a boost by the European Court of
Justice, whose legal rulings tend towards further integration, using
internal market arguments,

Taking the recent example of the landmark case awarded in favour of
British national Yvonne Watts, saying she was entitled to have claim money
back from the British health service for treatment carried out in France,
Mr Schinas said the ruling "clearly states that there is scope for
community action to achieve public health objectives".

"For example, patient mobility can very well be under article 95 [internal
market rules] - that's what the court says".

Mr Schinas says that the EU has to take action in this area or it risks
descending into a legal quagmire.

"We view the latest judgment as very timely encouragement ... saying that
we are right because if we don't come up with a proposal, you can imagine
the regulatory mess that would be created because we would have the court
dictating health policy for national governments".

Mr Schinas refused to go into details of the scope of the directive before
the commissioners debate it but said it is likely to cover "patient
mobility (...) but probably other things as well".

Bolkestein directive
Any directive from the commission to open up the internal market in this
area is likely to prompt strong reactions - particularly from some
quarters of the European Parliament which recently only agreed a general
services law after health had been removed from its scope.

That directive, dubbed the Bolkestein directive after its Dutch
commissioner author, prompted massive debate both within and beyond
Brussels, and was eventually agreed by member states last month after
being substantially watered down.

At the time, several MEPs had argued that health and social services
should not be governed by the principles of the internal market.

However, critics of the exemptions pointed out that the commission would
be likely to come forward with a separate specific directive for each
excluded area - which included health, social, security and transport
services.

Member states are also likely to watch any moves the commission makes very
keenly.

Technically the EU only has a supporting role in the public health sphere
and the current treaties are quite clear about the rights of member states
in health issues - which are very linked to national sovereignty.

However, the commission can get around the issue via internal market rules
and has traditionally been strongly backed by the European Court of
Justice.

--
Michelle Childs -Head of European Affairs
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