Health Law and Policy: The Impact of the EU

Abstract

This chapter looks specifically at national healthcare policy, and considers the impact of various aspects of EC internal market and competition law on this field. Outlining what might be called the EU's limited ‘positive’ policy powers in the field of health, it points out that the real impact of EU law on national healthcare has come through the relatively recent impact of internal market law, and the unfolding implications of the categorization of healthcare as a commercial ‘service’ under the treaty. Competition law, too, is very likely to have an impact on this field of policy, although there is as yet considerably less case law than on the free movement of services. The discussion concludes that solidarity is a ‘fundamentally national concept’ and that the Community lacks the legitimacy to pursue any significant degree of ‘positive integration’ in the field of healthcare.

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