The pandemic has put the spotlight on the medical sector, but cross-border cooperation on public health is not only a matter for times of crisis. This EURegionsWeek workshop puts forward a central assumption: even in everyday life, cooperation on this topic is essential in order to provide public services for citizens in cross-border regions. Together, we will explore what long-term cooperation can look like and what the keys to success are for integrated healthcare provision in cross-border regions.

Moderator:

Patrice Harster, Director, EGTC Eurodistrict PAMINA, France.

Speakers:

Michael Dejozé, Director, EGTC Meuse-Rhine, Belgium.
Lara Devetak, Project Manager, EGTC GO, Italy.
Anne Dussap, Project Manager, TRISAN/Euro-Institute, Germany.
Julia Winkler, Policy Officer, Niederösterreich Landesgesundheitsagentur / Healthacross, Austria.

Video Testimonials:

Martin Guillermo-Ramírez, Secretary General, Association of European Border Regions, Germany.
Karsten Uno Petersen, Rapporteur Commission for Natural Ressources, Association of European Border Regions, Denmark.
Claudine Remakel, Emergency Physician, Centre Hospitalier de Wissembourg, France.

Die Aufzeichnung in einer anderen Sprache sehen: auf Englisch | auf Französisch

Zu den Präsentationen

Europeans are living increasingly long lives. According to the Report on the Impact of Demographic Change, 20% of the population is above 65 today, and by 2070 it will be 30%. The share of people above 80 is expected to more than double, reaching 13% by 2070. This will have an impact on growth and sustainability, employment, health and long-term care across all EU regions. In addition, COVID-19 has highlighted how vulnerable the elderly are and how urgent it is to tap into the potential of digital transformation to address social, economic, and health challenges.

This digital transition is a cornerstone of the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the new EU Financial Framework 2021-2027. Digitalisation has great potential to enhance the quality of life of an ageing population and transform health and social care systems in line with a 'healthy ageing-oriented' approach. For this reason, it is now more crucial than ever to steer the political and public debate towards a long-term vision, with innovative and sustainable solutions at the centre.

A multilevel and constructive dialogue between regions and cities, European institutions, industry and civil society on digitalisation and its opportunities is needed to make this transition happen. The Committee of the Regions, the European Commission, the European Regional and Local Health Authorities (EUREGHA), and the Diputación Provincial de Lugo (ES) therefore propose this interactive debate with key EU stakeholders to explore the way forward. 

High-level representatives of European institutions will pave the way to discuss the implementation of digital solutions for the elderly in the European Union. The event will host experts from the European Commission and will be enriched by the experience of the EU-funded project IN-4-AHA and the story of the Province of Lugo.

Moderator:

Giovanni Gorgoni, Chair, European Regional and Local Health Authorities (EUREGHA), Belgium.

Speakers:

Jarosław Duda, MEP, European Parliament, Belgium.
Piret Hirv, Project Manager, IN-4-AHA - Innovation Networks for Scaling Active and Healthy Ageing, Tallinn Science Park Tehnopol, Estonia.
Marco Marsella, Head of Unit "eHealth, Well-Being and Ageing", DG CNECT, European Commission, Belgium.
Raluca Painter, Head of Unit "Labour Market, Education, Health and Social Services", DG REFORM, European Commission, Belgium.
Birgitta Sacrédeus, Chair of the Interregional Group on Health and Wellbeing, Committee of the Regions, Belgium.

Video Testimonials:

José Tomé Roca, President, Deputación Provincial de Lugo, Spain.
Dubravka Šuica, Commissioner for Democracy and Demography, European Commission, Belgium.

For those living in border regions, access to healthcare across the border can sometimes offer a lifeline.

Thanks to EU legislation and cooperation between neighbouring health authorities and hospitals, patients can benefit from healthcare abroad and be reimbursed the medical costs in the EU. In this workshop, DG SANTE and the Association of European Border Regions will show what patient mobility and cross-border healthcare cooperation means in practice.

At external borders with IPA countries, cross-border obstacles regarding healthcare cooperation are more challenging. DG REGIO will present the results of a study on specific obstacles at external borders in the health sector and will show some video testimonials of successful IPA cross-border cooperation in health.

Come and find out what patient mobility and cross-border healthcare cooperation means in practice! The workshop will try to be as interactive as possible and each part of the workshop will be followed by a question and answer session. Speakers will be from the DG SANTE, the Association of European Border Regions, DG REGIO/Interact, and project partners form different cross-border areas, and will also include a European Young Ambassador from the Western Balkans.

Moderator:

Mercedes Acitores, Senior Officer (Networks: Inclusive growth network | Med Lab Group), Interact, Spain.

Speakers:

Gilles Kittel, Team Manager– Instrument for Pre-Accession, Enlargement Negotiations and EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR), European Commission/DG REGIO, Belgium.
Caitriona Mullan, Representative of AEBR, Association of European Border Regions, Germany.
Vlad Voiculescu tbc, European Young Leader and Former Romanian Minister of Health, EYL, Romania.

The EU4Health Programme is an ambitious dedicated funding programme for 2021-2027 to ensure a high level of human health protection in all Union policies. The Programme will be the main financial instrument for supporting policies and actions that will pave the way to the EU Health Union, with a budget of €5.1 billion. This information session will highlight the programme's objectives, content and eligibility criteria including aspects of relevance to the regions.

Moderator:

Ana Burgos Gutierrez, EU4Health Task Force Programme Officer, DG SANTE, Belgium.

Speakers:

Ioana Maria Gligor, Head of Unit Digital Health, European Reference Networks, DG SANTE, Belgium.
Maya Matthews, Head of Unit Performance of national health systems, DG SANTE, European Commission, Belgium.
John F. Ryan, Director Public Health, DG SANTE, European Commission, Luxembourg.
Isabel de la Mata Barranco, Principal Adviser for Health and Crisis management, DG SANTE, European Commission, Belgium.