Kutse

4-5 june 2025

EUROPEAN POLICY SUMMIT

BRUSSELS & LIVESTREAMED

Re-imagining Europe’s health systems

PROGRAMME

2

Cover image credits: Shutterstock | MMD Creative

Co-organised with

#SustainableLivelihoodsSummit 3

2025 marks a year of unparalleled geopolitical competition, with tariffs and trade wars as its opening acts. As the

continent has adapted to new realities, from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to technological

advancements and demographic shifts, the resilience and sustainability of its healthcare systems have become

central to policy discussions.

The European Union faces the challenge of maintaining what was its global-leading position in innovation and

competitiveness in the life sciences industry. The combined pressures of an ageing population, rising healthcare

costs and barriers to equitable access to medicines complicate the situation; policymakers must address these

factors in tandem to craft a more resilient healthcare system, which in turn supports a competitive economy.

At the beginning of this new institutional cycle, the European Commission has the opportunity to keep health

systems at the heart of two crucial policy goals: maintain the strong European footprint in innovation and prosperity

and ensure preparedness and resilience by taking full advantage of the lessons learned during the COVID-19

pandemic.

Both policy goals are interconnected; with the focus on growth and competitiveness, the EU must also strive to

ensure its economic agenda serves the social good. Citizens, as highlighted in the work of our citizen unit Debating

Europe and in ‘10 policy choices for a Renewed Social Contract for Europe’, are calling for a Europe where people

can live, work and age in sustainable and healthy environments. By rising to the challenge and focusing on healthier

people, we can build more resilient societies.

Maintaining the momentum of the digitalisation of healthcare offers a key opportunity. Ensuring effective

implementation of the European Health Data Space will represent a unique asset for research and innovation, while

digital systems will greatly improve patients’ access to information and medicines.

In addition, the application of trustworthy, safe and high-quality artificial intelligence (AI) has already

demonstrated its capacity to reinvent European health systems by improving workforce productivity, health

outcomes and system efficiency. Unlocking the full potential of digitalisation will require to tackle issues such as

workforce upskilling and data interoperability, as well as complex intellectual property ownership.

Compounding this is the impact of extreme weather events, which presents a growing threat to public health

across Europe. The EU will need to integrate healthcare and climate strategies with sustainable urban planning

while ensuring the healthcare sector reduces its environmental impact. The healthcare sector’s significant

environmental footprint – from energy consumption to waste production – undermines the sustainability of critical

infrastructure.

Finally, workforce shortages, an ageing population placing increased pressure on healthcare demand and low

levels of investment further exacerbate existing challenges, undermining the integration of European health

systems and delaying essential care, particularly in regions struggling to attract and retain skilled workers. Without

a robust and well-distributed healthcare workforce, achieving resilience remains an uphill battle, exposing

vulnerabilities in emergency preparedness and long-term care delivery.

About

4

The 2025 Sustainable Livelihoods summit will address these systemic issues that lie at the heart of renewing

Europe’s social contract and underscore the urgent need for a unified and comprehensive approach to healthcare

resilience, as well as boosting EU competitiveness, health sovereignty and autonomy by fostering collaboration

among policymakers, industry leaders, patients’ representatives and healthcare workers.

Join the #SustainableLivelihoodsSummit discussion on social media.

#SustainableLivelihoodsSummit 5

WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE

19.00-21.30 POLICYMAKERS’ DINNER DEBATE (by invitation only)

Governance matters for resilience – a stronger role

for Europe in health

An off-the-record dinner debate for 30 senior stakeholders, including senior officials

from the European Commission (from both cabinets and various directorates-

general), members of the European Parliament, representatives from national and

international institutions, the private sector, civil society and academics.

On the eve of the Sustainable Livelihoods Summit, we will consider the need for

boldness and innovation in governance, as well as better financing and deeper EU-

wide coordination to create a more integrated and resilient healthcare ecosystem,

one that can balance the diversity of national contexts with the scale of the

challenges facing the sector.

While the COVID-19 pandemic exposed critical gaps in European health systems, it

also demonstrated the potential for a more cohesive and proactive EU response,

where the European Commission was capable of promoting budgetary expansion,

organising joint vaccine purchases and developing coordination tools to prepare for

upcoming health crises. With the conception of the European Health Union to

improve preparedness, enhance cross-border cooperation and ensure equitable

access to care, funding gaps, regulatory fragmentation and political hesitancy

continue to hinder progress. Despite these challenges, EU-led initiatives such as

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and coordinated actions on rare diseases are

important examples of areas where the EU has clearly provided great added value,

shaping policies with a needs-driven approach for patients.

• What governance model does Europe need to build a truly integrated and

resilient Health Union?

• How can the EU remove cross-border healthcare barriers and facilitate a

coordinated digital transformation of European health systems while maintaining

a system of shared competencies?

• How can funding mechanisms like the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)

better support a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to health resilience?

• How can health system resilience contribute to European security?

Schedule

6

THURSDAY 5 JUNE

09.00-10.30 Registration and welcome coffee

09.30-10.20 PARALLEL ROUNDTABLES

The brave new world of health

Knowing what we know now about costs, improvements in healthcare, the pace of

medical breakthroughs and how digital innovation and AI can reinvent the system - if

we were to design a healthcare system that adapts, takes advantage of new

opportunities and anticipates the challenges of the 21st century, how would we build

it?

This set of parallel briefings will feature short and inspiring conversations.

Schedule

10.30-11.45 SESSION I

Building blocks for an innovative and equitable

Health Union

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, European health systems have been under heavy

strain due to increased financial pressure and a challenging economic climate. At the

onset of this institutional cycle, Europe faces the effects and intersection between

long-standing challenges, such as health and social care workforce shortages,

stagnating or even shrinking wages and an ageing population, and multiple

competing political priorities. The current situation is thus drastically reducing

policymakers’ room for manoeuvre and hampering Europe’s capacity to fully recover

from the pandemic’s effect on citizens’ livelihoods.

The completion of the European Health Union represents a great opportunity to

trigger a multiplying effect in health systems. Improving access to the most

advanced treatments and reducing the barriers that currently separate national

health systems will enable Europeans to fully benefit from the Single Market. In

addition, supporting the healthcare innovation landscape, already a major source of

R&D investments and patents in Europe, by reducing administrative burden and

creating stable, consistent rules will drive industry competitiveness, making the

business case for retaining manufacturing in Europe.

High-quality, citizen-centric care should be the north star of health policy in the

institutional cycle. Strengthening innovation in the European life sciences sector will

not only deliver improved long-term value to citizens’ health and security but also

serve as an economic driver for Europe. To develop a comprehensive strategy for the

sector, Europe must balance its competitiveness goals with thorough assessments

of citizens’ health needs; this involves prioritising health promotion, raising health

standards, reducing disease burdens and empowering individuals to take greater

control over their health and wellbeing.

• How can meaningful stakeholder alliances accelerate the shift from a disease-

reactive model of care towards an ecosystem that proactively advocates for

disease prevention and health promotion?

• How can healthcare innovation improve the long-term quality and accessibility of

care?

• What are the missing steps to a patient-centred Health Union?

• How can Europe leverage its health sector to drive sustainable economic growth?

11.45-12.15 Coffee break

12.15-12.30 IDEA SHARING

Healthcare reimagined: sharing a vision for change

Europe’s health ecosystem is operating under unprecedented challenges. With

workforce shortages, complex regulatory frameworks, health inequities and barriers in

health technology infrastructures among others – a disruptive reimagining of health in

Europe is needed. How can we redefine the future of health and realise our vision for a

healthier Europe?

Schedule

8

12.30-13.30 SESSION II

Delivering a comprehensive approach to the Digital

Single Market to transform Europe’s health landscape

In recent years, the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) in health

has been lauded for its great potential in increasing efficiency, improving diagnosis

and treatment and optimising resources amidst workforce challenges. Still, even with

the European Commission’s ambitions towards a Digital Single Market and meeting

the targets for Europe’s Digital Decade, there remain major barriers hindering the EU’s

ability to accelerate the implementation of solutions that effectively address unmet

health needs across the continent.

As the EU aims to take a cross-cutting approach to strengthen capacity building and

harness the power of digital technologies and AI to optimise clinical outcomes and

save lives, EU leaders and innovators face the responsibility of deploying solutions

that are both clinically safe, interoperable and environmentally sustainable.

Furthermore, they must also be able to reconcile these technological innovations with

keeping citizens at the heart of the digital transition – by aligning with the human

aspects such as data governance, the digital divide, occupational burnout and

• Is the EU on a path towards digital health sovereignty and open strategic autonomy

(OSA)?

• How can we re-design health systems in such a way that empowers people within

a digital ecosystem?

• How can the EU reinforce a more proactive and integrated strategy for the

European Health Data Space (EHDS) whilst complying with the EU AI Act?

13.30 End of summit

www.friendsofeurope.org

[email protected]

Tel: +32 2 893 98 19

Square de Meeûs 5-6, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

Friends of Europe is a leading think-tank that connects people, stimulates debate and

triggers change to create a more inclusive, sustainable and forward-looking Europe

4-5 june 2025

EUROPEAN POLICY SUMMIT

BRUSSELS & LIVESTREAMED

Re-imagining Europe’s health systems

PROGRAMME

2

Cover image credits: Shutterstock | MMD Creative

Co-organised with

#SustainableLivelihoodsSummit 3

2025 marks a year of unparalleled geopolitical competition, with tariffs and trade wars as its opening acts. As the

continent has adapted to new realities, from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to technological

advancements and demographic shifts, the resilience and sustainability of its healthcare systems have become

central to policy discussions.

The European Union faces the challenge of maintaining what was its global-leading position in innovation and

competitiveness in the life sciences industry. The combined pressures of an ageing population, rising healthcare

costs and barriers to equitable access to medicines complicate the situation; policymakers must address these

factors in tandem to craft a more resilient healthcare system, which in turn supports a competitive economy.

At the beginning of this new institutional cycle, the European Commission has the opportunity to keep health

systems at the heart of two crucial policy goals: maintain the strong European footprint in innovation and prosperity

and ensure preparedness and resilience by taking full advantage of the lessons learned during the COVID-19

pandemic.

Both policy goals are interconnected; with the focus on growth and competitiveness, the EU must also strive to

ensure its economic agenda serves the social good. Citizens, as highlighted in the work of our citizen unit Debating

Europe and in ‘10 policy choices for a Renewed Social Contract for Europe’, are calling for a Europe where people

can live, work and age in sustainable and healthy environments. By rising to the challenge and focusing on healthier

people, we can build more resilient societies.

Maintaining the momentum of the digitalisation of healthcare offers a key opportunity. Ensuring effective

implementation of the European Health Data Space will represent a unique asset for research and innovation, while

digital systems will greatly improve patients’ access to information and medicines.

In addition, the application of trustworthy, safe and high-quality artificial intelligence (AI) has already

demonstrated its capacity to reinvent European health systems by improving workforce productivity, health

outcomes and system efficiency. Unlocking the full potential of digitalisation will require to tackle issues such as

workforce upskilling and data interoperability, as well as complex intellectual property ownership.

Compounding this is the impact of extreme weather events, which presents a growing threat to public health

across Europe. The EU will need to integrate healthcare and climate strategies with sustainable urban planning

while ensuring the healthcare sector reduces its environmental impact. The healthcare sector’s significant

environmental footprint – from energy consumption to waste production – undermines the sustainability of critical

infrastructure.

Finally, workforce shortages, an ageing population placing increased pressure on healthcare demand and low

levels of investment further exacerbate existing challenges, undermining the integration of European health

systems and delaying essential care, particularly in regions struggling to attract and retain skilled workers. Without

a robust and well-distributed healthcare workforce, achieving resilience remains an uphill battle, exposing

vulnerabilities in emergency preparedness and long-term care delivery.

About

4

The 2025 Sustainable Livelihoods summit will address these systemic issues that lie at the heart of renewing

Europe’s social contract and underscore the urgent need for a unified and comprehensive approach to healthcare

resilience, as well as boosting EU competitiveness, health sovereignty and autonomy by fostering collaboration

among policymakers, industry leaders, patients’ representatives and healthcare workers.

Join the #SustainableLivelihoodsSummit discussion on social media.

#SustainableLivelihoodsSummit 5

WEDNESDAY 4 JUNE

19.00-21.30 POLICYMAKERS’ DINNER DEBATE (by invitation only)

Governance matters for resilience – a stronger role

for Europe in health

An off-the-record dinner debate for 30 senior stakeholders, including senior officials

from the European Commission (from both cabinets and various directorates-

general), members of the European Parliament, representatives from national and

international institutions, the private sector, civil society and academics.

On the eve of the Sustainable Livelihoods Summit, we will consider the need for

boldness and innovation in governance, as well as better financing and deeper EU-

wide coordination to create a more integrated and resilient healthcare ecosystem,

one that can balance the diversity of national contexts with the scale of the

challenges facing the sector.

While the COVID-19 pandemic exposed critical gaps in European health systems, it

also demonstrated the potential for a more cohesive and proactive EU response,

where the European Commission was capable of promoting budgetary expansion,

organising joint vaccine purchases and developing coordination tools to prepare for

upcoming health crises. With the conception of the European Health Union to

improve preparedness, enhance cross-border cooperation and ensure equitable

access to care, funding gaps, regulatory fragmentation and political hesitancy

continue to hinder progress. Despite these challenges, EU-led initiatives such as

Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and coordinated actions on rare diseases are

important examples of areas where the EU has clearly provided great added value,

shaping policies with a needs-driven approach for patients.

• What governance model does Europe need to build a truly integrated and

resilient Health Union?

• How can the EU remove cross-border healthcare barriers and facilitate a

coordinated digital transformation of European health systems while maintaining

a system of shared competencies?

• How can funding mechanisms like the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF)

better support a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to health resilience?

• How can health system resilience contribute to European security?

Schedule

6

THURSDAY 5 JUNE

09.00-10.30 Registration and welcome coffee

09.30-10.20 PARALLEL ROUNDTABLES

The brave new world of health

Knowing what we know now about costs, improvements in healthcare, the pace of

medical breakthroughs and how digital innovation and AI can reinvent the system - if

we were to design a healthcare system that adapts, takes advantage of new

opportunities and anticipates the challenges of the 21st century, how would we build

it?

This set of parallel briefings will feature short and inspiring conversations.

Schedule

10.30-11.45 SESSION I

Building blocks for an innovative and equitable

Health Union

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, European health systems have been under heavy

strain due to increased financial pressure and a challenging economic climate. At the

onset of this institutional cycle, Europe faces the effects and intersection between

long-standing challenges, such as health and social care workforce shortages,

stagnating or even shrinking wages and an ageing population, and multiple

competing political priorities. The current situation is thus drastically reducing

policymakers’ room for manoeuvre and hampering Europe’s capacity to fully recover

from the pandemic’s effect on citizens’ livelihoods.

The completion of the European Health Union represents a great opportunity to

trigger a multiplying effect in health systems. Improving access to the most

advanced treatments and reducing the barriers that currently separate national

health systems will enable Europeans to fully benefit from the Single Market. In

addition, supporting the healthcare innovation landscape, already a major source of

R&D investments and patents in Europe, by reducing administrative burden and

creating stable, consistent rules will drive industry competitiveness, making the

business case for retaining manufacturing in Europe.

High-quality, citizen-centric care should be the north star of health policy in the

institutional cycle. Strengthening innovation in the European life sciences sector will

not only deliver improved long-term value to citizens’ health and security but also

serve as an economic driver for Europe. To develop a comprehensive strategy for the

sector, Europe must balance its competitiveness goals with thorough assessments

of citizens’ health needs; this involves prioritising health promotion, raising health

standards, reducing disease burdens and empowering individuals to take greater

control over their health and wellbeing.

• How can meaningful stakeholder alliances accelerate the shift from a disease-

reactive model of care towards an ecosystem that proactively advocates for

disease prevention and health promotion?

• How can healthcare innovation improve the long-term quality and accessibility of

care?

• What are the missing steps to a patient-centred Health Union?

• How can Europe leverage its health sector to drive sustainable economic growth?

11.45-12.15 Coffee break

12.15-12.30 IDEA SHARING

Healthcare reimagined: sharing a vision for change

Europe’s health ecosystem is operating under unprecedented challenges. With

workforce shortages, complex regulatory frameworks, health inequities and barriers in

health technology infrastructures among others – a disruptive reimagining of health in

Europe is needed. How can we redefine the future of health and realise our vision for a

healthier Europe?

Schedule

8

12.30-13.30 SESSION II

Delivering a comprehensive approach to the Digital

Single Market to transform Europe’s health landscape

In recent years, the use of digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) in health

has been lauded for its great potential in increasing efficiency, improving diagnosis

and treatment and optimising resources amidst workforce challenges. Still, even with

the European Commission’s ambitions towards a Digital Single Market and meeting

the targets for Europe’s Digital Decade, there remain major barriers hindering the EU’s

ability to accelerate the implementation of solutions that effectively address unmet

health needs across the continent.

As the EU aims to take a cross-cutting approach to strengthen capacity building and

harness the power of digital technologies and AI to optimise clinical outcomes and

save lives, EU leaders and innovators face the responsibility of deploying solutions

that are both clinically safe, interoperable and environmentally sustainable.

Furthermore, they must also be able to reconcile these technological innovations with

keeping citizens at the heart of the digital transition – by aligning with the human

aspects such as data governance, the digital divide, occupational burnout and

• Is the EU on a path towards digital health sovereignty and open strategic autonomy

(OSA)?

• How can we re-design health systems in such a way that empowers people within

a digital ecosystem?

• How can the EU reinforce a more proactive and integrated strategy for the

European Health Data Space (EHDS) whilst complying with the EU AI Act?

13.30 End of summit

www.friendsofeurope.org

[email protected]

Tel: +32 2 893 98 19

Square de Meeûs 5-6, 1000 Brussels, Belgium

Friends of Europe is a leading think-tank that connects people, stimulates debate and

triggers change to create a more inclusive, sustainable and forward-looking Europe

Friends of Europe ASBL

Square de Meeûs 5-6

B-1000 Brussels, Belgium

+32 2 893 98 25

Friends of Europe is an independent think tank that connects people, stimulates debate and triggers change

EU Transparency register 99436366768-45

Riina Sikkut

Minister of Health

Republic of Estonia

Ministry of Social Affairs

Suur-Ameerika 1, 10122 Tallinn

Brussels, 07 March 2025 Dear Minister Sikkut,

It is with great pleasure that I am writing to invite you to speak at our 2025 Sustainable Livelihoods summit

‘Re-imagining Europe's health systems’, which will take place in Brussels on Thursday 5 June 2025 from

09.00 until 13.30 CET.

As you know only too well, 2025 marks a year of unparalleled geopolitical competition with tariffs and trade

wars as its opening acts. As the continent has adapted to new realities, from the impacts of the COVID-19

pandemic to technological advancements and demographic shifts, the resilience and sustainability of

its health systems have become central to policy discussions.

This summit will offer a platform to discuss systemic issues around health which lie at the heart of renewing

Europe’s social contract and underscore the urgent need for a unified and comprehensive approach to

health system resilience, as well as boosting EU competitiveness, health sovereignty and autonomy by

fostering collaboration among policymakers, Member States, industry leaders, patients’ representatives

and health workers. Throughout the summit, we will work together to examine the cross-cutting challenges

posed by the health-technology nexus, address the opportunities for trust-worthy, safe and high-quality

artificial intelligence to tackle challenges in health infrastructure and consider the priorities to deliver a

more integrated and equitable Health Union. Your perspective from a national and EU-wide would be

essential and important to include.

Previous speakers at Friends of Europe events include, among others, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,

WHO Director-General, Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament; Sonia Roschnik,

Executive Director of the Geneva Sustainability Centre; Paulette Lenert, Deputy Prime Minister of

Luxembourg and Minister of Health; Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown;

Annette Brüls, Corporate Vice President, EMEA Canada and Latin America at Edwards Lifesciences; Mario

Monti, Friends of Europe Trustee and former Prime Minister of Italy; Nina Rawal, Founder of Emerging

Health Ventures capital fund; Yan Le Cam, CEO of Eurordis Rare Diseases Europe and Ciara Clancy, CEO at

Beats Medical.

Our summits draw over 150 participants in person and several hundred more online, engaging a broad

spectrum of stakeholders across member states. The summit will be preceded by a policymakers’ dinner

on the eve of it, to which you’re also warmly invited to.

Friends of Europe is a Brussels-based think tank, working with stakeholders across the continent to craft

bold and innovative recommendations to revitalise the European Project and build a more inclusive,

sustainable and forward-thinking Europe.

I am confident that your intervention would be a high point of this important discussion and I hope we will

have the opportunity to welcome you on this occasion. My colleague, Kaoru Inoue and I, are at your disposal

should you have any questions concerning this invitation.

Yours sincerely,

Nathalie Furrer

Director, Friends of Europe

Friends of Europe ASBL

Square de Meeûs 5-6

B-1000 Brussels, Belgium

+32 2 893 98 25

Friends of Europe is an independent think tank that connects people, stimulates debate and triggers change

EU Transparency register 99436366768-45

Riina Sikkut

Minister of Health

Republic of Estonia

Ministry of Social Affairs

Suur-Ameerika 1, 10122 Tallinn

Brussels, 07 March 2025 Dear Minister Sikkut,

It is with great pleasure that I am writing to invite you to speak at our 2025 Sustainable Livelihoods summit

‘Re-imagining Europe's health systems’, which will take place in Brussels on Thursday 5 June 2025 from

09.00 until 13.30 CET.

As you know only too well, 2025 marks a year of unparalleled geopolitical competition with tariffs and trade

wars as its opening acts. As the continent has adapted to new realities, from the impacts of the COVID-19

pandemic to technological advancements and demographic shifts, the resilience and sustainability of

its health systems have become central to policy discussions.

This summit will offer a platform to discuss systemic issues around health which lie at the heart of renewing

Europe’s social contract and underscore the urgent need for a unified and comprehensive approach to

health system resilience, as well as boosting EU competitiveness, health sovereignty and autonomy by

fostering collaboration among policymakers, Member States, industry leaders, patients’ representatives

and health workers. Throughout the summit, we will work together to examine the cross-cutting challenges

posed by the health-technology nexus, address the opportunities for trust-worthy, safe and high-quality

artificial intelligence to tackle challenges in health infrastructure and consider the priorities to deliver a

more integrated and equitable Health Union. Your perspective from a national and EU-wide would be

essential and important to include.

Previous speakers at Friends of Europe events include, among others, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,

WHO Director-General, Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament; Sonia Roschnik,

Executive Director of the Geneva Sustainability Centre; Paulette Lenert, Deputy Prime Minister of

Luxembourg and Minister of Health; Marina Romanello, Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown;

Annette Brüls, Corporate Vice President, EMEA Canada and Latin America at Edwards Lifesciences; Mario

Monti, Friends of Europe Trustee and former Prime Minister of Italy; Nina Rawal, Founder of Emerging

Health Ventures capital fund; Yan Le Cam, CEO of Eurordis Rare Diseases Europe and Ciara Clancy, CEO at

Beats Medical.

Our summits draw over 150 participants in person and several hundred more online, engaging a broad

spectrum of stakeholders across member states. The summit will be preceded by a policymakers’ dinner

on the eve of it, to which you’re also warmly invited to.

Friends of Europe is a Brussels-based think tank, working with stakeholders across the continent to craft

bold and innovative recommendations to revitalise the European Project and build a more inclusive,

sustainable and forward-thinking Europe.

I am confident that your intervention would be a high point of this important discussion and I hope we will

have the opportunity to welcome you on this occasion. My colleague, Kaoru Inoue and I, are at your disposal

should you have any questions concerning this invitation.

Yours sincerely,

Nathalie Furrer

Director, Friends of Europe