Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council meeting, 16-17 December 2008

In the EPSCO meeting, Health and Consumer affairs addressed on 16 December, chaired by the French Minister for Health.

The Health Council debated the proposed Patients’ Rights Directive and Rare Diseases:

 The proposal for a directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare was the main point on the agenda for the meeting. During its term, the French Presidency focused its attention on the first three chapters of the draft directive and put forward a progress report on this work, reflecting the discussions held and proposing new guidelines. The health ministers warmly welcomed the progress achieved under the French Presidency and considered that the report’s guidelines were a very good basis for the continuation of the negotiations.

The debate between the health ministers was very productive and revealed a general consensus on the following concerns:

* Improving the legal recourse for cross-border patients by codifying all the Court of Justice’s case law on this subject and organising a link with the regulation on the coordination of social security systems (883/2004). Defining the scope of application appeared to be a central issue in this regard;

* Promoting the quality and safety of cross-border care, with respect to national competencies in terms of organisation and provision of health care (Article 152 of the Treaty). The Member States expressed their preference for a provision on patient information, allowing an informed choice, and for enhanced cooperation between countries.

* Achieving a better balance between patients’ individual rights to mobility and preserving national regulatory and planning capacities, for everyone’s benefit. Questions relating to the definition of hospital care and specialised care and securing the principle of prior authorisation for the reimbursement of this care were raised by a majority of the Member States.

Real progress could be made on these essential points, even if adjustments remain to be made and certain important questions remain outstanding, such as the management of the influx of patients, the role of private service providers, along with guarantees in terms of the quality and security of cross-border healthcare. Speaking at the end of the debate, the European Commissioner for Health, Androulla Vassiliou, resumed the outlines of the Commission’s initial proposal and called for the continuation of the discussions, in association with the European Parliament.

The ministers also had a preliminary exchange of views on the proposed recommendation on rare diseases presented by the Commission in November 2008 and adopted two sets of conclusions:

* The work undertaken at the informal ministerial meeting in Angers led to the adoption of conclusions on health security to improve European and international coordination and thus minimise the impact of health crises on European citizens. The Member States committed to strengthening cooperation amongst themselves in terms of preparation, monitoring, early warnings and coordinated responses for public health emergencies. They asked the Commission to present an initiative in 2010 to reinforce the Community framework.

* The conclusions on public health strategies to combat age-related neurodegenerative diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease in particular, are in the context of the ageing of the population and the growing health and social burden that these pathologies present for all the Member States, who emphasized the importance of improving the competencies of professionals in this area to guarantee a higher quality of medical and social care. The Member States asked the Commission to adopt an initiative, as of 2009, at Community level on research, the exchange of best practices between Member States, and the improvement of the quality of epidemiological data on the prevalence and incidence of these diseases.

The labour/social affairs session (17 December) will facilitate debate between the 27 ministers competent in these dossiers on the social impact of the current crisis, the employment situation, and the follow-up and implementation of the social agenda. The Presidency plans to review the results of its consultations with the European Parliament on the proposed revision of the Working Time Directive (Parliament’s report in second reading is expected for 16 December).