Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-05-21-Speech-1-075"
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"en.20070521.15.1-075"2
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"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, the title of the own-initiative report that we are debating mentions the good reason for its being drafted: the exclusion of health services from the scope of the Services Directive. I should like to remind you of the fact that this exclusion has been brought about as a result of the decision taken by a broad majority in this House, a decision in which both the Commission and the Council gave us their unanimous backing.
It was, as I see it, a fair decision, firstly because health services cannot be treated in the same way as traditional commercial services, secondly because a patient is not a consumer and thirdly, because the Member States have key authority and responsibility when it comes to organising and funding health care within their territory. I am therefore relying on us being able to lay down a resolution on Wednesday that is consistent in this area.
Meanwhile, health services remain, of course, services within the meaning of the Treaty and as such, the rights and freedoms of the Treaty apply. We refuse, as we did in the case of the Services Directive at the time, to leave everything to the Court of Justice, and once again, we are forced to reconcile various objectives with each other. The internal market should work as efficiently as possible while room should also be left for health policy that is justified in every way. What we need to heed in this is a sense of balance and legal certainty.
A codification of existing case law on the rights and duties of both mobile patients and mobile service providers is certainly called for, but it is not enough. What remains a challenge is the creation of added value for people and in the area of the quality of care and of guaranteeing leeway for the Member States, thus enabling them, as before, to be responsible in making the choices that they have to make.
We have not yet reached consensus on what exactly should be covered in European legislation using what instruments, but I am persuaded that this report, the inquiry which the Commissioner has organised and also the earlier resolution on patient mobility are valid contributions to further develop policy in this area, and we are looking forward to the Commissioner’s initiatives in this respect."@en1
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