All is not as clear as the Minister would wish us to believe. The EU has not given any green light or carte blanche to risk equalisation. That does not surprise me as I believe the concept of risk equalisation poses the most serious doubts about competition across the market. In a further communication in November 1999, the same EU official said that a final decision of the Commission services regarding the conformity of the Irish private health insurance regime cannot be taken as long as the process of reform is in course and until the final details are available.