Artsen: "Door Grondwet verdwijnt te veel zeggenschap over volksgezondheid naar Brussel" (en)

A last-minute change to the draft European Constitution has angered British doctors, as they believe that the new wording gives the EU the lead law-making role in medical care.

The British Medical Association (BMA) is to demand urgent clarification over the last-minute change, writes the Telegraph.

The BMA supports the strong role for the EU in tackling infectious epidemics that cross borders, but they believe that the new text goes much further by covering "serious threats to health when they affect more than one member state".

"EU competence should be limited to external and unprecedented threats like Sars and bio-terrorism rather than existing diseases", said Dr Edwin Borman, the chairman of the BMA's international committee to the Telegraph.

"Conditions like cancer and diabetes should not fall into this clause", he added.

The health chapter (Article III-179) was changed by the Irish presidency and the chapter is now said to be closed.

According to the newspaper, the new text has angered Germany, Austria, Greece, Spain, and the Scandinavian countries.

However, some of the governments do not want to draw attention to the problem shortly before the European elections.