It had been in the works for a while, but now it has formally been adopted. From the article:
The regulation provides that by 2027 portable batteries incorporated into appliances should be removable and replaceable by the end-user, leaving sufficient time for operators to adapt the design of their products to this requirement.
I do have a card in my wallet issued by the EU that gives me the right to receive healthcare in any EU member state I visit, and I struggle to think of a EU member state that does not have universal healthcare in one form or another.
If you mean the European Health Insurance Card, it’s not the same as Universal Heathcare. If you travel to another contry that accepts it, you cannot go with any problem to the doctor, only ones that cannot wait until you return to the contry where you’re insured. Still useful to not have to have travel insurance within the EU, just might be useful to know.
You are correct, and it is indeed good to make this clear. I meant to argue that it is a bit of an exaggeration to say the the EU has nothing to do with universal healthcare. Arguably, I have more rights to health care as a EU citizen visiting another member state than a US citizen who can’t afford health insurance. Furthermore, it is unlikely that a state without socialized healthcare such as the US would be able to join the EU without reforming its public health policies.
The EHIC doesn’t cover things like a mountain rescue or being flown back to the your home country i.e. the most expensive and potentially life-ruining things, so travel insurance is still a good idea.
Barely anyone has this card. I never heard about it before
In Italy your national social security card acts as a European health card as well.
In France, where I’ve lived for 10 years, it doesn’t. But the European one is just a few clicks away on your personal online account, you just request it in a timely manner and it gets delivered at your address free of charge.
Dunno about other EU countries but I guess it’s pretty much the same.