[Rehabilitation and the European Community internal market]

Given the limited competencies of the European Community (EC) in this respect, harmonization of rehabilitation at the level and within the framework of the EC is not expected to occur in the foreseeable future even after completion of the EC internal market. There will however be increased efforts to coordinate existing systems. Moreover, decisions and measures in other fields, with broader competencies on the part of the EC, may affect the field of integration of disabled persons (e.g., transportation, vocational education). In the same manner, the harmonization of technical standards applicable for medical equipment may influence the field of rehabilitation. If, after completion of the internal market, rehabilitative services were sought abroad in countries of the EC, refusal to accept the costs incurred on territorial grounds alone would not seem to be considered admissible any longer.