With European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for patients getting treatment abroad.
Do you suffer from a medical condition that cannot be treated in your home country, or you have to wait too long for treatment? You might be interested to know whether you can access other EU countries’ health systems and if your home insurance will cover at least a part of the costs of getting treatment abroad.
EU rules on cross-border healthcare could come to your aid in such a situation. They grant patients the right to benefit from planned medical treatment, such as specialist consultation, surgery or treatment for a specific medical condition, in another EU country on the same terms and at the same cost as people who live in that country. While some countries may have restrictions in place for access to treatment for organisational reasons, these should not discriminate against patients coming from another EU country.
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And what about the issue of reimbursement? If the treatment is covered by your insurance, but is not available at all, or not in time, in your home country, your health insurer is obliged to reimburse your expenses up to the level of costs you would have normally incurred in your home country.
National Contact Points for planned medical treatment, either in your home country or in the country where the treatment is available, will help you identify the health provider offering the treatment you need. Your home National Contact Point also provides information about reimbursement options and about whether you need to ask for prior authorisation.
Further informationWith European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for people in an emergency situation.
Hopefully it will never happen to you, but many people find themselves in emergency situations while travelling abroad, because they have a car accident, need medical assistance or fall victim to a crime, for instance. The EU has set up an emergency phone number to enable you to get help quickly: 112. You can dial it anywhere in Europe for free to summon the local police, ambulance or fire brigade to your immediate assistance.
Meanwhile, since March 2018, all new cars have to comply with EU legislation and be equipped with the eCall on-board emergency call system. The system will be activated by sensors if you have a serious car accident and will automatically call the 112 number, communicating your car’s location, the time and the direction of travel, even if you are unconscious or unable to call. You can also trigger it manually by pushing a button in the car, for instance if you witness a serious accident. It is estimated that the system could save up to 2 500 lives a year.
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If you fall sick while travelling in Europe, EU legislation gives you the same right to state-provided healthcare as people insured in the country concerned, and if you carry the European Health Insurance Card, you can avoid paying upfront in most EU countries.
Another example of EU provision for people in emergency situations is the EU Civil Protection Mechanism, which supplies coordinated assistance to victims of natural and man-made disasters. This can include health assistance from the European Medical Corps, who send doctors and medical equipment in response to emergencies in and outside the EU.
Further informationWith European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for small farmers.
Most of the farms in the EU are small, although the term includes a wide diversity of operations. Although small farms produce only a portion of the total EU agricultural output, their contribution in creating rural employment, supporting rural societies and landscapes, and ensuring that traditional and local production continues, makes them a cornerstone of European agriculture.
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Because small farms are generally run by the family, who often consume what is produced themselves, they have few assets and few opportunities to innovate. They generally have very little bargaining power in the food supply chain. However, many small farmers are flexible enough to diversify their farm activities, or take on another job to increase their income.
As a small farmer, the EU recognises your important role and grants smallholdings a simplified scheme that cuts the administrative burden for accessing EU direct payments. This scheme is implemented in more than half of the EU countries, including those where small farms outnumber large ones. EU rural development policy also benefits small farmers by financing rural investments that improve the quality of life in the countryside, diversify rural economies, and offer services in remote areas that are important to the many elderly and female farmers among smallholders.
Further informationWith European elections coming up in May 2019, you probably want to know how the European Union impacts your daily life, before you think about voting. In the latest in a series of posts on what Europe does for you, your family, your business and your wellbeing, we look at what Europe does for film makers.
If you go to the cinema more than twice a year, you are already doing better than the average European. If so, you must have noticed that American productions make up three quarters of the films on offer. This situation is disconcerting, not least because US-based companies produced ‘just’ 789 feature films in 2016, for instance – compared to 1 740 European productions in the same period…
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The strong US presence in the EU film market explains why public support is provided to assist European cinema in gaining a competitive edge. Since 2013, state aid rules allow the level of support to film production, distribution and promotion to reach 50 %, and up to 60 %in the case of co-productions funded by more than one EU country. By contrast, there are no limits on aid for script writing or film-project development, or for difficult audiovisual works, as defined by each EU country.
Creative Europe – the EU programme supporting the cultural and creative sectors until 2020 – will dedicate more than €800 million to cinema. In addition, €210 million has been made available since 2016 for a new financial guarantee facility, which should make it easier for small companies to access bank loans.
Helping overcome distribution barriers for European films is one of the goals of the European Parliament’s LUX Prize, awarded annually since 2007. The winner does not receive a direct grant. Instead, the three films in the final stage of the competition are subtitled in the 24 official EU languages and are screened in more than 40 cities and at 18 festivals, allowing many Europeans to see them.
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