When Medical Treatment and Religious Beliefs Intersect: The Case of Veselibas Ministrija

The article comments the judgment of the Court of Justice in Veselības ministrija (case C-243/19 ECLI:EU:C:2020:872) with a view to highlight its contribution to the effectiveness of equality in access to healthcare within the Union. After a brief introduction and contextualization of the case, this Insight dwells on the interpretative efforts made by AG Hogan and the Second Chamber of the Court to distinguish the scope and reach of Regulation 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems, from those of Directive 2011/24 on patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare, as well as to determine the degree to which these two acts, read in light of art. 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, require Member States to accommodate patients’ choices based on religious beliefs. This Insight then moves on to assess the judgement taking into account that other similar, and similarly delicate, cases may reach the Court of Justice in the near future indicating a possible, readily available, normative solution capable of ensuring greater equality in access to healthcare.