Euro Observer Autumn 2008, Vol.10, No.3

Although Member States retain the primary responsibility for organization and delivery of health services under Article 152 of the EC Treaty, this policy space is still shaped by Community law and policy. The Community did not have legal authority in the field of public health until 1999, when the public health article was amended and renumbered by the Treaty of Amsterdam as the current Article 152. Treaty Article 152 defines the role of the EU as complementing national policies, sets out procedures by which the EU institutions may act in the health field, and delineates the types of measures that may be enacted, but explicitly bars the use of harmonization. Thus, the EU is limited to establishing public health programmes and incentives for preferred health policies.