The EP's internal market and public health committee has postponed its vote on a report by British Conservative John Bowis on cross-border healthcare. More than 900 amendments have been tabled to the report and the other committees being consulted on the issue only decided on their positions at the start of this week, meaning that more time is needed to take account of them when preparing compromise amendments. On Monday 9 March, when voting on the draft opinion by French Socialist Bernadette Vergnaud at the internal market committee, Vergnaud voted against her own report after several amendments backed by the ALDE and EPP-ED groups were adopted. Vergnaud explained why she had done this, saying that “these points, in addition to flouting member state sovereignty over management of their healthcare systems, run the risk of jeopardising the already precarious balance of health insurance funding schemes, and introducing a two-tier healthcare system.” One will notice that Vergnaud's primary concern is the sovereignty of the member states, immediately followed by the national healthcare system and the coffers of health insurance schemes. Healthcare only creeps in at third place! This is all the more regrettable in that the committee she belongs to had the wisdom to scrap the prior authorisation requirement for emergency treatment, patients facing a waiting list in their member state of origin and those suffering from rare diseases. In order to avoid a two-tier healthcare system, the committee also suggests a compensation system among national health systems rather than the reimbursement of treatment costs as contained in the European Commission's initial draft. The parliamentary committee recommends the appointment of a European Patients' Ombudsman to deal with complaints about prior authorisation and the quality and cost of healthcare. (O.J./transl.fl)