| Abstract [eng] |
The dissertation analyses the impact of the internal market freedoms and competition rules of the European Union on the organisation and regulation of the Lithuanian system of health protection. Under the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, the Member States are primarily responsible for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care. The EU competence in the field of public health is only supportive. However, over the years, the Court of Justice of the EU has developed a body of case law applying the EU internal market freedoms and competition rules in this field. The dissertation examines how the EU internal market freedoms and competition rules have affected the organisation and regulation of the Lithuanian system of health protection: what specific subjective rights have been granted to private individuals due to the operation of these provisions of EU law (‘individual v public authority’ level), as well as what other changes in the regulation of the system are driven by these provisions. Having identified this specific legal impact of the provisions of EU law, the dissertation further assesses whether Lithuania's competence to organise and regulate its system of health protection has as a result been restricted (the EU level v the national level). In order to answer the questions raised in the dissertation, the case law in the field of public health of the EU courts, the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania, the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania and documents of other EU and Lithuanian authorities are analysed in detail. |
