Health Ministers of the EU discussed the European Commission's Directive proposal on Patients’ Rights in Cross-border Healthcare

At its meeting of the 9th of June in Strasbourg, the Council of Ministers held a debate on the European Commission's Directive proposal relating to the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare.

Following this debate, the Council has published a provisional press release, exposing the main points of the discussion:

-           Following a request made by a big majority of Member-States, the European Commissioner for Health, Androula Vassiliou accepted to include article 152 of the EU Treaty as legal basis for the future Directive and to exclude long-term care from the scope of the text, in respect to the subsidiary principle.

-           The Presidency stressed the need to link prior authorization to certain conditions, respectful the relevant case-law of the European Court of Justice.

-           With regards to the scope of the Directive proposal, the Presidency has suggested that quality and safety standards may be used as criteria to decide which healthcare providers shall be covered.

The provisional report in question can be downloaded at the following Internet address:

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/lsa/108380.pdf