Health Care Directive Comes Out Of Black Hole

摘要

The draft directive on health services and patients' rights in cross-border care resurfaces after six months in limbo (in December, the proposal had been postponed due to a "full agenda"). Even if formally, the classic interservice procedure has not been initiated (for fear of leaks), the main offices concerned and the legal department are working on a new revision. The objective is to release the text in early July, if possible at the same time as the whole social package, explain the services of EU Health Commissioner Androula Vassiliou - an objective which is not shared by all the commissioners. During a hearing in the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, EU Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy implied that the drafting of the text needed several weeks more and could not be presented until autumn. From the point of view of form, the 60-page text (explanatory memorandum and financial annex included) does not present a particularly different structure from the last draft presented in December.