On 19th and 20th April 2007, the Federal Minister of Health, Ulla Schmidt, received the EU Ministers of Health for an Informal Meeting in the town of Aachen. The Minister stated: "European health policy has made major headway. The task now is to make cross-border care, too, a real option on the ground for all citizens. The Informal Council has a fine opportunity to prepare good, citizen-oriented decisions in this area."
The Federal Minister of Health went on to stress: "People live in Europe and they work in Europe. Europe must guarantee that everyone has access to medical services, that the quality of care does not depend on the size of one's wallet and that all patients receive high-quality health care should they fall ill.“
"It is important", said the Minister, "that authentic health information, such as that which we will have in Germany after implementation of our health reform, is available to the citizens of Europe. Reimbursement and liability issues that arise in Europe even today, must be resolved. An open and social Europe needs a reliable framework in which it can ensure the provision of necessary health services even beyond the borders of the individual state. Health promotion, prevention and research should form part of this framework.
The solidarity which characterises our health care systems must be upheld. In this context, the responsibility of the Member States for the financing and provision of health services may not be disregarded.“
Consistently, the Trio Presidency (Germany, Portugal, Slovenia) today presented a joint paper drafted along these lines. Building on the 'Joint Values and Principles in EU Health Systems' that were adopted last year, this paper serves as the basis for additional discussions with the Member States, the Commission, the European Parliament and civil society. It underscores the Health Ministers' commitment to securing all of the EU's citizens access to high-quality medical care.
In this connection, the Federal Minister of Health recalled that Germany has implemented the judgements of Europe's highest Court. This applies both to the emergency health card and to hospital care across European borders.
The Federal Minister of Health concluded: "Our guiding principle is to serve the citizens by ensuring modern, solidary health care systems. These systems make an indispensable contribution towards social justice and internal cohesion.“
