*** PAUL NIHOUL, ANNE-CLAIRE SIMON (Eds.): L'Europe et les soins de santé. Marché intérieur - Sécurité sociale - Concurrence. De Boeck & Larcier (39 rue des Minimes, B-1000 Brussels. Tel: (32-10) 482510 - Fax: 482519 - E-mail: commande@deboeckservices.com - Internet: http://www.larcier.com ). 2005, 405 pp. ISBN 2-8044-1970-3.
Debate on the organisation of EU healthcare systems is in its infancy and it is rare to find anyone who imagines that what is now predominantly national organisation of healthcare, might give to EU level organisation way in the foreseeable future which all EU citizens would be able to benefit from. But the world is changing and the European Union and its Member States with it! More and more EU citizens are travelling and living in other EU Member States these days. What measures have been taken to enable them to have constant access to healthcare - failing which their 'freedom of circulation' would be a pipe-dream? And in the huge borderless common market that we officially live in, to what extent are suppliers of healthcare actually able to provide their services in Member States other than the one where they are established? What criteria have to be met for the sale of healthcare products (like medicines) in other Member States? It is clear that the EU dynamic is at play here, imperceptibly changing a landscape that is not set in stone as rigidly as one might have imagined. The authors of this book explain that things are also changing in the light of other intermeshing factors, like the common challenges to Member States of spiralling healthcare costs, the ageing population and technological developments, making an EU-wide response more feasible. Luckily for readers, the authors of the book have delved into law, politics and the economy to outline what is at stake in the 'Europeanising' of healthcare.
The book starts with an essay analysing the legal basis used by the European Institutions to develop public health initiatives, and looks at how public health powers have developed from the Maastricht Treaty to the Amsterdam Treaty and the changes that the European Constitution would provide. The reflection process launched by the European Commission in view to develop convergence of welfare policies is also looked at. In another essay, Henri Lewalle (head of mission at the 'Alliance nationale des mutualités chrétiennes' in Belgium) studies the general characteristics of healthcare systems in the Member States, and the way the Member States are planning to preserve the viability of their healthcare systems. This chapter studies the economic, political and sociological demands that modern healthcare systems have to meet in Western society. The next part of the book looks at access to healthcare against the backdrop of the free circulation of individuals, where Prof. Sean Van Raepenbusch (now a judge at the EU Civil Service Tribunal) examines the coordination scheme established by Regulation 1408/71/EEC, and two other authors look at how these rules apply in countries like Belgium. This research enables them to highlight the limits of EU coordination.
There follows an even more topical discussion, of the problem of accessing healthcare against the backdrop of the freedom to supply services. Based on the dense undergrowth of Court of Justice jurisprudence (it has ruled on several occasions since the Kohll ruling that the completion of the single market means that social security systems cannot only cover medical services delivered in the country in question), Anne-Claire Simon clarifies cases where financial compensation can be obtained for medical treatment abroad. Prof. Pertek highlights the continuing obstacles to the free circulation of healthcare professionals, while Rita Baeten, researcher at the European Social Observatory, assesses the impact that the initial draft of the Bolkestein Directive might have had on healthcare if healthcare had not been excluded from its scope of application. The last part of the book examines the question in an equally detailed manner from the angle of competition and the free circulation of goods. In his concluding remarks, Dr. Gareth Davies, senior lecturer at Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the Netherlands, sheds light on the paradox of 'Europeanising' by judges at the European courts in Luxembourg, sacrificing national rules on the altar of the internal market, at the same time as the industry is finding it difficult to keep up with these changes. Liberalisation consequently wins out over deliberately desired harmonisation…
Michel Theys
*** ERIC VAN DEN ABEELE: Les services d'intérêt général. Etat du débat européen. Centre de recherche et d'information socio-politiques (1 place Quetelet, B-1210 Brussels. Tel: (32-2) 2110180 - Fax: (32-2) 219 79 34 - Internet: http://www.crisp.be ). "Courrier hebdomadaire" series, Nos. 1901-1902. 2005, 72 pp, €12-40.
What is the EU doing with its public services? This is the question posed by this CRISP newsletter, providing very useful information about various aspects of this very controversial political hot potato. The author, director of studies at the University of Mons-Hainaut in Belgium and associate researcher at the European Social Observatory, starts off with the excellent idea of setting out the legal backdrop to services of general interest by studying definitions used by the European Commission (services of general interest, services of general economic interest, public services and universal services), the factors inherent in the notion of services of general interest (SGI), the Treaty and primary law and European Court of Justice case law. Eric Van den Abeele then draws up a balance sheet of EU action, one institution at a time. He points out, for example, how the European Commission's approach has changed. When it was first set up, it was against the backdrop of neoliberal ideology, based solely on a desire to push through a voluntarist policy of opening up markets organised as monopolies. This approach was not subject to any democratic debate, explains the author, until the vote on the Herzog Report, although the vaunted advantages of liberalisation did not come to pass in all sectors and all Member States with the same beneficial effects. The author briefly describes the Council's position before going on to describe at length the sensitivities at play at the European Parliament, attempting to discern areas of convergence and divergence on three specific issues - state aid, the Green Paper on Services of General Interest, and the utility of having a framework directive. Eric Van den Abeele then assesses the impact the draft services directive might have had on the question of services of general interest, going on to examine the challenges of a framework directive on SGI and alternative solutions, like the Charter on Services of General Interest, establishing a common platform of services of general economic interest, and the Open Coordination Method. He also explains how the EU regulatory agencies may pre-figure a type of EU public service. A very instructive book for people seeking information on how to interpret the compromise drawn up by the European Parliament to save Bolkestein without Bolkestein. (MT)
*** Le modèle social danois. Flexibilité et sécurité - Les partenaires sociaux et la politique de l'emploi - Services de l'emploi et formation. Groupe Liaisons (187-189 quai de Valmy, F-75494 Paris Cedex 10. Tel: (33-825) 825371 - Fax: (33-1) 44722027 - Internet: http://www.liaisons-sociales.com ). "Les Synthèses" series. 2005, 92 pp, €40.
In this book, a series of experts and economists showers lavish praise on the Danish social model. And with reason! It has only taken Denmark a few years to become the model pupil in the European Union, with the highest level of employment in the EU and unemployment of between 4% and 5.5% for the past decade, in other words virtually full employment. Its social cohesion is very high and its level of poverty very low… The EU is deciding which path to take to achieve the Lisbon Strategy objectives so it is tempting to think that the Danish system is the model to be followed. But is it? Can this model, or some of it at least, be transposed to other Member States? The Danish model is what is known as 'flexicurity', a system combining flexibility of legislation allowing employers to hire and fire easily, security for workers through a high level of social security, and an effective and active employment policy. All this is the outcome of a subtle balance achieved in a specific national context based above all on the social partners. The clear utility of this issue of Liaisons sociales Europe's "Synthèses" magazine is the way it explains in great detail various characteristics of the Danish economic and social policy in order to outline what might prove to be a source of inspiration for people wanting to update the social model of the other EU Member States. A detailed, well-documented and clearly very useful book! (LD)
*** CHRISTIAN PHILIP: La concurrence régulée dans les transports publics de voyageurs: un cadre à améliorer. Délégation pour l'Union européenne de l'Assemblée nationale (Boutique de l'Assemblée nationale, 4 rue Aristide Briand, F-75007 Paris. Tel: (33-1) 40636121 - Internet: http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr ). "Les documents d'information de l'Assemblée nationale" series, No. 2936. 2006, 91 pp, €3-50. ISBN 2-11-121015-3.
This newsletter looks at the amended draft regulation on public transport by rail and road or, in EU jargon, the draft regulation on 'public service obligations' (PSO). While noting improvements on the original draft, the French parliamentarian writing this report outlines the limits and shortcomings of the regulation, calling for a system of regulated competition to be established, based on reconciling a series of demands, namely developing public transport systems, ensuring legal security for operators and boosting the social rights of workers in the event of a change in operator. (PBo)
*** JENS LIND, HERMAN KNUDSEN, HENNING JØRGENSEN (Eds.): Labour and Employment Regulation in Europe. Presses Interuniversitaires Européennes - Peter Lang (1 av. Maurice, B-1050 Brussels. e-mail: info@peterlang.com - Internet: http://www.peterlang.net ). "Work & Society" series, No. 45, 2004, 408 pp. ISBN 90-5201-246-6.
The question of labour relations and employment regulation is hugely important for the European Union. As Jens Lind explains at the outset, "the concern for the interests and social inclusion of labour is very much an issue in the beginning of the 21st century Europe", given the looming danger of growing inequality for social cohesion. This book will help readers gain greater understanding of the issue by providing elements to improve upon what is often an over-simplistic perception given the predominance of neo-liberal discourse. The book has two broad thrusts. The first looks at the representation and involvement of workers in companies, through trade unions and works councils. It stresses the sheer diversity of models in the European Union with various national case studies, avoiding simplistic comparisons that compare like with unlike. But the case studies were designed to fit into a European reference framework and were discussed with colleagues when comparing the situation in two or more countries. They show, for example, how trade unions calling for more integrated legislation at EU level have to change to deal with changes in society and the erosion of social 'acquis'. The second part looks at employment regulation from the political perspective against the backdrop of the EU employment strategy. At the end of the day, as Jens Lind explains, "To achieve a fair balance between the interests of capital and labour, more regulation on social and employment protection is needed. If employers and policy makers do not realise this, they are moving on thin ice". (FRo)
*** FRANCESCO GARIBALDO, VOLKER TELLJOHANN (Eds.): Globalisation, Company Strategies and Quality of Working Life in Europe. Peter Lang (1 Moosstrasse, CH-2542 Pieterlen. Fax: (41-32) 3761727 - Internet: http://www.peterlang.de ). "Work - Technology - Organization - Society" series, No. 25. 2004, 532 pp. ISBN 3-631-52519-2.
To re-invigorate European Union competitiveness at global level and preserve its social model, more jobs will have to be created, of course, but they need to be high quality jobs. This idea can be seen as the thread running throughout this book based on the proceedings of a conference (with the same title) in Bologna, Italy, in June 2003. It tests out the hypothesis that company strategies have a direct impact on the quality of working life. To this end, there is a series of chapters based on national case studies by some three dozen European researchers, setting them against the backdrop of the European social model. In this way, the authors establish an analytical framework for studying the quality of working life, with a view to determining common indicators and identifying good practices that can be incorporated in social policies. (FRo)
*** BERNARD CAZENEUVE: La responsabilité du fait des produits. En France et en Europe. Dunod (Paris. Internet: http://www.dunod.com ). "Fonctions de l'entreprise" series. 2005, 214 pp, €27-65. ISBN 2-10-048354-4.
Lawyer and former French parliamentarian Bernard Cazeneuve outlines clearly and carefully in this book the legal challenges arising from EU product safety legislation and liability for defective products, in order to help the business world take preventative measures to minimise risks.
(PBo)