Press Release: Healthcare : European Commission proposes three common EU objectives for healthcare and care for the elderly – access for all, high quality, financial sustainability

The European Commission agreed on 5 December 2001 upon an analysis of healthcare provision and care for the elderly in the EU and identified three common challenges in all systems throughout the EU. First, people are living longer (thanks in large measure to healthcare systems themselves) and traditional family structures are changing. Second, care technologies are developing fast and cost money. Third, EU citizens have new demands of health and care systems as consumers of care. Faced with these challenges, the European Commission proposes three common objectives: achieving universal access to healthcare and care for the elderly, high quality of care and financial viability of care systems in the long run. This policy paper will now go forward to the Barcelona European Council in Spring 2002 and will ultimately feed into the EU's annual Broad Economic Policy Guidelines.