Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-11-15-Speech-3-160"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20001115.6.3-160"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spoken text |
"Mr President, I would like to thank and congratulate Mr Rocard for his report and to congratulate Mr Marinos for his committee's opinion.
The Commission welcomes this initiative and it comes at crucial time because we have just launched a political debate at the European level on the reform of social protection. It is the first time that we have decided that there is a need for cooperation on reform of social protection systems at the European level.
This report underlines the economic and social challenges posed by the measures relating to supplementary health insurance and, of course, supplementary health insurance is of vital importance nowadays because the basic insurance system is ripe for reform and because healthcare needs are becoming greater and greater.
The report says there is a need for the Commission to act and, of course, we agree. First, we must take into account the great diversity which exists at the European level. There are huge differences from Member State to Member State as far as the definition is concerned, as far as the functioning of the systems are concerned, the combination between the public and the private sector. As an example, as far as the differences in the role played by voluntary and supplementary health insurance is concerned, the coverage of the population by voluntary or supplementary health insurance mechanisms ranges from under 0.5% in Sweden to more than 85% in France. However, these figures are somewhat misleading since both the concept and the coverage of the system differ significantly from country to country. The Commission will act immediately in the framework of its competences and I will try to reply to the conclusions of your report.
First, on the question of the Green Paper, the complexity of the issues is such that a Green Paper may seem premature. However, it is essential to draw up an in-depth report on the situation and we can do this as soon as possible. Of course, we will take into account the wide variety of national systems and the complex nature of healthcare systems across Europe. The Commission will immediately launch a study of supplementary health insurance. Because of the complexity of the issue, we believe we can publicise the results by the end of 2001.
This study can form the basis for a communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament proposing initiatives or measures. In keeping with Parliament's requests, we will try to present a framework, an objective and reasoned analysis, which will take into account all this variety and diversity and we will focus on the different aspects of the issues. You have referred to the wide range of aspects. We can go from general questions such as access to healthcare for all, to the more specific questions on the rights of individuals who want to settle or work in other Member States.
As far as the other two proposals are concerned – the directive, the legal action, and this European forum – this is something we can think about. It could form the second step after this study in one year's time when we not only have the comparison between Member States but we could also work with comparable indicators which are important for any proposals for European cooperation."@en1
|
| lpv:unclassifiedMetadata |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples