The European Parliament’s amendments reflect a second-reading-compromise reached between the Belgian Presidency and representatives of the European Parliament in an informal trilogue on 15 December 2010. In line with article 294 of the Lisbon Treaty the cross-border healthcare directive has now been adopted. Member states will have 30 months to transpose the directive’s provision into national legislation.

The new directive provides clarity about the rights of patients who seek healthcare in another member state and supplements the rights that patients already have at EU level through the legislation on the coordination of social security schemes.

It meets the Council’s wish to fully respect the case law of the European Court of Justice on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare while preserving member states’ rights to organise their own healthcare systems.