Germany Slams EU Health Policy Move

Germany's federal government opposes any extension of the EuropeanUnion's competence into the health policy area, Sabine Bergmann-Pohl, Parliamentary Secretary of State in the German Health Ministry, has said.

While Germany was not making any final statement on the issue, she said, in view of cross-border activities by health care companies and employers and the treatment of EU patients in neighboring countries, it was not clear how the German system would be affected by EU political initiatives in the long term. She hoped the Amsterdam agreements would improve and change the health policy competences assigned to the EU at Maastricht.

The European Parliament's request for the EU to have an unambiguous legal basis for public health sector activity had created the impression that the treaty changes recommended by the Commission in public health policy would lead to attempts to harmonize the EU health systems and their related legal bases. Germany opposes this, but favors closer cooperation between member states over health care issues, said Mrs Bergmann-Pohl. She urged the Commission to produce a health policy Green Book by mid-1998 at the latest, for a long-term framework for EU health policy without expanding existing competences and responsibilities.