Euro Brief
16-31 March 2005 No. 6/2005
- Heads of state reach deal on Services Directive - go to section
- MEPs spell out vision of patient mobility in enlarged Europe - go to section
- Commission consultation on Europe’s ageing population - go to section
- New action group to fight obesity - go to section
- Only 3 EU countries have minimum age limits for sunbed use - go to section
- 75,000 march against working time opt-out clause - go to section
Heads of state reach deal on Services Directive
EU leaders meeting in Brussels on 22-23 March 2005 for the Spring Summit have reached a compromise on the draft Directive on Services in the Internal Market.
The Luxembourg Prime Minister (currently holding the EU Presidency) stated:
"We agreed that the internal market for services must become fully operational in order to be able to promote growth and employment and strengthen European competitiveness. However, the services market we wish to introduce must preserve the European social model."
He further stated that the Council could not force the Commission to withdraw the Directive and that the Member States remain committed to the liberalisation of the Services Market.
This means that the role of the Parliament is crucial in amending the Draft Directive on Services. It will vote on the draft law in May 2005.
The Council also re-launched the Lisbon Process. A mid-term review published in late 2004 stated that little progress had been made in delivering the Lisbon goals because there were too many objectives and this diluted the priorities and weakened ownership of the process.
EU leaders agreed to re-launch Lisbon in the following way:
1. A re-focusing on growth and jobs: more growth and sustainable growth, more jobs and better jobs
2. An effective ownership by improving governance procedures at both the European and national levels, in the framework of a partnership for growth and employment.
The revised Lisbon Strategy will have three main priorities:
- Knowledge and innovation as the engines for a sustainable growth
- Making Europe more attractive to invest and work
- More jobs for more social cohesion.
Read the full Council conclusions.
MEPs spell out vision of patient mobility in enlarged Europe
London Conservative MEP, John Bowis presented his report on Patient Mobility to the European Parliament’s Health and Environment Committee and opened the debate among MEPs on how to achieve greater patients rights and choice in Europe without compromising national sovereignty over the delivery of their healthcare systems.
Mr Bowis said:
- The solidarity and universality principles should guide the accessibility to healthcare, and patient rights should be applied equally in all member states;
- The Commission should present a proposal and/or a timetable for the Centres of Reference;
- Data should be developed about cross-border movement of patients;
- The Commission should promote the e-health portal including health professionals as target (health professional own concerns about their mobility);
- Structural funds are now available for health.
Patients usually prefer to stay among their relatives and the language barrier is still strong.
The problem is also in the management of the hospitals. The quality of hospital care should be standardised across the EU to avoid problems of co-payments.
In addition there is a need to involve more stakeholders such as the industry, insurance companies, patients’ organisations.
The Commission, represented by Nick Fahy, pointed out the issue falls under the scope of the subsidiarity principle. To a certain extent, the Commission is in the hands of the Member States, which are responsible for their health systems. However significant steps forward were made in the last few years, which nevertheless do not allow defining a clear and precise timetable.
Legal uncertainty needs to be addressed, not only for patients, but for health professionals and Member States.
Primarily, he said, it is important to find out how far different citizens in different countries get different care. E.g. the programmes EU against Cancer showed Member States who was doing well and who was doing wrong. A report on best practices in the different Member States concluded in the improvement of the state of health in the EU.
Commission consultation on Europe’s ageing population
The European Commission has launched a Green Paper on Europe’s ageing population, which addresses many issues common to member states, such as the ageing workforce, parental leave and equal pay.
EU policies, such as those on work-life balance and equal opportunities will be examined to see how they can add to measures supporting the ageing population.
The Commission will organise a conference in July bringing together experts, high level policy makers, and civil society to discuss the follow-up on this green paper. The green paper consultation closes on 1st September.
New action group to fight obesity
The European Commission has formed a new 'platform' to combat obesity rates, affecting nearly 200 million people in Europe. The cost to healthcare caused by obesity is between two to eight percent.
The Action Group includes the chair of the Parliament’s Health and Environment Committee, the European Commissioner for Health and business and public sector organisations.
The 'Platform for Action on Diet, Physical Activity and Health' is an experimental method of working, which the Commission hopes, will result in proposals that go beyond existing ideas for health promotion. Plans must be ready by this summer and implemented during 2006.
Only 3 EU countries have minimum age limits for sunbed use
The World Health Organisation is recommending a legislative minimum age requirement of 18 years old for sunbed use after identifying just three countries in the European Union that have legislation - France, Belgium and Sweden.
In France, all UV-radiation emitting appliances are declared to the health authority, any health benefit claims are disallowed and minors are banned from using tanning beds.
The WHO says that people under 18 are more likely to develop the most dangerous form of skin cancer if they use sunbeds.
75,000 march against working time opt-out clause
The European Trade Union Confederation held a demonstration in Brussels ahead of the EU Summit on 22nd March, calling for the removal of the opt-out clause from the Working Time Directive.
The Commission produced proposals last year to continue the availability of individual opt-outs in countries which require them.