European neo-liberal policies of privatization and deregulation have rendered public services vulnerable to market forces and with them civil rights linked to them. Public health care and the inalienable right to access to it, unavoidably, have also been the victim of these policies. Seeing this full-on attack on public services and mainly on public health care, in 2002, COBAS-Sanità (Italy) and the “Union of Hospital Doctors” (Greece /Thessaloniki) took the initiative to create the “European Network for the defense of public health care”. Hence to try to prevent the further retreat and degradation the service, public health care, on the hand and on the other, of our right as civilian to access to it freely.



To attain its main objective, the European Network, has set itself certain goals: primarily to develop activities around health issues and public health (symbolical but not only), related to other public services but preferably on its own, to raise awareness of the damage neoliberal globalization is causing to public health care and ultimately to organize a general strike at European level for free and unrestricted access to quality health care. Nevertheless propositions such as the creation of alternative human-oriented health centers (as was the case in Thessaloniki) or even occupations of hospital so they can be managed alternatively are also present, however, still marginal.



The European Network is a thematical initiative resulting of the European Social Forum and its procedure. As such it follows the “tradition” of such structure and hence is open, dynamic and always welcomes its expansion and development, be it geographical or organizational (other organizations/networks), within the margins of its aforementioned objectives.