The high-level closing conference of the EU4Health project on patients’ rights and cross-border healthcare, held in Brussels on 26 March 2026 and organised under the auspices of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), marked the culmination of a pan-European series of national workshops conducted between 2024 and 2025. Initiated under the 2022 evaluation of the Cross-border Healthcare Directive, the project aimed to address the persistent lack of citizen awareness regarding their rights to receive medical treatment across EU Member States. The workshop series, implemented across multiple countries including several border regions, highlighted both the practical relevance of the Directive and the continued need for improved communication, coordination and accessibility of cross-border healthcare services.
The closing event brought together representatives of EU institutions, national contact points, patient organisations and policy experts to assess the Directive’s implementation and identify remaining challenges. Discussions emphasised structural barriers limiting the uptake of cross-border care, as well as the importance of strengthening national contact points and enhancing information flows to citizens. The conference also showcased concrete examples of cross-border health cooperation, including integrated service models and EU-supported tools designed to facilitate regional healthcare provision across borders.
A key focus of the final panel was the role of cross-border cooperation in addressing rare diseases, affecting an estimated 40 million people in Europe. Speakers underlined the importance of European Reference Networks and the Directive’s provisions enabling patients to access specialised treatments unavailable in their home countries. While the conference formally concluded the EU4Health project, it also set the stage for continued policy dialogue and future revisions of the Directive, contributing to the broader objective of strengthening a more integrated and resilient European Health Union.
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