INTERVIEW WITH BERNADETTE VERGNAUD, EP RAPPORTEUR : HEALTH SERVICES: "A LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENT IS NEEDED".

• Position: Interview

Bernadette Vergnaud (PES, France) is rapporteur on health services for the European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO). Her report on the impact and consequences of leaving health services out of the services directive in the internal market is set to be reviewed by IMCO in April and in plenary in May.

Is it really useful for the Commission and Parliament to study health services, which is essentially a member state responsibility?

It is a fact that it is not Europe's role to harmonise health services. But we cannot disregard the rulings handed down by the Court of Justice (based on freedom to provide services). The judges currently rule on a case-by-case basis, which is creating considerable legal uncertainty as to which rules apply. That is not good for either patients or professionals. The fact that these services have been left out of...