The European Right to Social and Medical Assistance

Abstract

The provisions of Articles 11 to 17 of the European Social Charter and  Articles 23, 30 and 31 of the Revised European Social Charter establish social security standards universally applicable in Europe. Among these provisions, Article 13 is important, which defines common standards of broadly understood social security. Establishing and maintaining these social security systems is the responsibility of the authorities of the Member States forming the Council of Europe. These countries have an obligation to improve their national social security systems. The standards for assessing the conformity of national social security systems in Europe are set, in the case of countries that have ratified the European Charter of Social Rights, by ILO Convention No. 102 or, in the case of countries that have committed themselves to the 1996 Revised European Social Charter, by the European Code of Social Security. In particular, the standards contained in Article 12 paragraph 4 of both Social Charters of the Council of Europe are the basis of the most widely understood principle of social protection on the European continent. This principle applies to all citizens of the Member States of the Council of Europe, regardless of their place of residence on the European continent. The provision of Article 12 paragraph 4 letter ‘b’ of the European Social Charter is a legal norm that has a chance to initiate the process of free movement of insured persons between the states forming the Council of Europe. In the case of countries belonging to the European Union, the Committee of Social Rights requires that reports on the application of social security standards include information on the movement of insured persons from non-EU countries and their legal situation in matters relating to the granting, maintenance and restoration of rights to social benefits while observing the principle of including periods of insurance in other Council of Europe countries into the insurance period. The achievements of the Committee for Social Rights in matters relating to the establishment and observance of social security standards in Europe, presented in this article, justify the thesis that the Council of Europe has adopted and strives to implement high and effective standards of social protection of the insured.