The Commission has adopted a proposal which aims to improve, simplify and make more visible the EU’s work in co-ordinating Member States’ social protection policies - pensions, social inclusion and combating poverty, healthcare and care for the elderly, social security systems and how they encourage people to work (’making work pay’).
The document highlights the increasing inter-relationship of healthcare systems of EU Member States and the need to address the European dimension of social protection and healthcare. Specifically the document refers to the issue of long-term healthcare for the elderly and the ongoing High-level reflection process on patient mobility. The Commission proposes that a single European vision and objectives be developed to encompass social inclusion, pensions, health and longterm care. This emphasis could be seen in the Commission’s position in the Convention on the Future of Europe to extend the Open Method of Coordination to health policy.
