The COVID-19 pandemic has illuminated stark inequalities and fault lines between European countries, and accentuated the need for true cross-sector and cross-border collaboration. It has become clear that to recover and stand a chance against future crises it is not enough to firefight, uniting only around our most immediate threats.

A new approach to health in Europe with new forms of solidarity needs to emerge from the crisis. A European Health Union offers the framework for this. While health is enjoying its moment in the spotlight, we should use the Conference on the Future of Europe to explore what such a vision means in reality.

This plenary will put civil society at the centre to collect and explore their perspectives – hopes, concerns, visions – of a new role for the EU in health, what this could look like and how this could lead to a healthier and happier future for all citizens in Europe. Only by pooling our ideas and experience and working collaboratively can we re-fashion our health systems from the ground up, so that together we become fire-proof.

For more on the programme, visit https://bit.ly/3kCvQlW