Unity in diversity of European Health Care systems - A fundamental legal perspective on common values, organizational and financial principles.

From a policy point of view, further European integration in the field of health care is advocated. But in order to make that shift, a thorough understanding of the existing similarities between the health care systems organized by the Union Member States is required. Unfortunately, however, that insight has not yet been provided by scientific research: a fundamental legal scientific study exploring the common legal bases of European health care systems and the shared patterns in the legal organization of those systems, is currently lacking. This research aims to reveal the common legal architecture of European health care systems. To that end it focuses on the examination of two research questions, namely (1) the question whether there is a common core of fundamental legal standards that found the organization of the existing European health care systems and (2) the question whether there is a shared pattern in the structuring legal intervention by which the European Member States organize those systems. By answering those questions through fundamental legal research, we aim to close the gap in the scientific literature and shed new light on the organization of the European health care systems. In addition this research also aims to provide a more far-reaching social added value, for policy, the development of Union law and legal practice.The methodology that will be used to carry out this research is based on three principles: (1) the subject is addressed from a human-rights perspective, (2) the relevant data are collected and analyzed in accordance with the principles of legal positivism, and (3) the comparative method is used to draw conclusions from the analysis. These principles find expression in the various stages of the research, in which we will answer systematically the higher mentioned research questions.

Keywords:FUNDAMENTAL SOCIAL RIGHTS, HEALTH CARE, EUROPEAN SOCIAL LAW, EUROPEAN INTEGRATION

Disciplines:Constitutional law, European law, Human rights law, Social law