ABSTRACT
In healthcare ministries across Europe, the realization is dawning that European Union (EU) law has profound consequences for the organization of healthcare systems. In some countries, there are public and private partnerships, and across many countries there are serious concerns being expressed about the availability and level of publicly funded healthcare systems. Duncan1 suggests that there is a paradox in European terms in that for years there was pressure from many interest groups for the EU to be ‘doing something’ about health. Yet health is so high on national political agendas that most governments do not want the EU interfering with it. The EU was given powers to spend money on European-level health projects but, to date, has not passed laws harmonizing public health measures in member states.
