EU HEALTH FORUM 2026

Changes in the global order are reshaping the rules of the game in healthcare too.

Short-term solutions are no longer an option. 

Healthcare is becoming a strategic issue.

08:30 - 09:00

Registration

SESSION 1.  REDEFINING HEALTHCARE

09:00 – 09:10

Opening of the Forum

Opening remarks by the organizer

09:10 – 09:15

Introductory message by the Minister of Health, Irena Hrstić

Sustainability of the Croatian Healthcare System Under Real Pressures and Future Challenges

09:15 – 09:30

in focus: 

EU Cardiovascular Plan and Croatian National Priorities

• What can be expected from the European Plan for Cardiovascular Disease, and how will it be implemented in Croatia?
• Has Croatia adopted a National Cardiovascular Plan, with measurable 2030 targets and clearly defined implementation leads?
• Is the National Cardiovascular Disease Registry operational, and how is it being used to inform health policy?
• What is the current status of screening for hypertension and dyslipidemia in primary healthcare – what share of the population is covered and is there a plan to increase it

09:30 – 09:45

Online address:

Tomislav Sokol, Memeber of the European Parliament

09:45 – 09:55

Keynote:

“Croatia Health Profile“ – OECD, European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies and European Commission

Keynote speaker 

Bernd Rechel, co-author „Croatia Health Profile“, European Observatory for Health System and Policies; London Hub – London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

09:55 – 10:35

Panel discussion:

The New Anatomy of Healthcare: What Decisions Must We Make? How to Design a Healthcare System That Meets the Needs of Croatian Citizens? 

• Key levers of efficiency: prevention, priorities, and investment in measurable outcomes
• A shift towards early diagnosis and timely access to care
• What Croatia needs to do by 2030 to reduce chronic disease, lower mortality, and extend healthy life years
• The role of the health system and healthcare professionals, alongside risk factors such as smoking, alcohol, obesity, and physical inactivity

panelists

• Bernd Rechel, European Observatory for Health System and Policies
• Tomislav Benjak, Assistant Director of the Croatian Institute of Public Health
• Professor Fran Borovečki, Director of University Hospital Centre Zagreb
• Zrinka Mach, President of Society for Chronic Diseases
• Sunčana Vlah Tomičević,  Health Centre Zagreb - East

10:35 – 10:50

COFFEE BREAK

SESSION 2. EU LEGISLATION AND THE EUROPEAN HEALTH UNION

10:50 – 11:10

Keynote video address

Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety

Keynote:

EU Regulation in Practice – What Changes for Patients and System

keynote speaker 

Mislav Vučić, Independent healthcare industry consultant

Keynote:

EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive vs. the Supply of Medicines

keynote speaker 

Ana Gongola, Croatian Employers’ Association – Pharmaceutical Industry Association, HUP. Member of the Management Board of Sandoz Croatia, and Director of Commercial Operations, Lek Slovenia

11:10 – 12:00

Panel discussion:

Access to Innovative Technologies, Value Added Medicines and Security of Supply vs. EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive

• EU regulation and investment: how to accelerate innovation and improve access to new therapies (1)
• Critical medicines and supply security: supply chain resilience and joint procurement (2)
• Bringing manufacturing back to Europe: how realistic is it, and what needs to change? (3)
• Critical Medicines Act (CMA): will it increase the availability of critical medicines? (4)
• “Made in Europe” generic medicines and unmet medical needs: where are the solutions? (5)
• How will the implementation of the Directive affect the cosmetics industry?
• How will Croatia regulate the implementation of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, and will this require additional investments in water protection?
• How will the implementation of the UWWTD affect the long-term sustainability of the Croatian healthcare system and the cosmetics manufacturing sector?

(1) EU pharmaceutical reform – Directive (COM/2023/192; EUR-Lex)
(2) European Commission – communication on medicine shortages
(3) European Commission – Critical Medicines Act
(4)European Commission – Critical Medicines Act (official page)
(5) European Commission – communication on medicine shortages

PANELISTS:

• Ivana Stojčević, Country Manager, Zentiva, HUP – Croatian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
• Tvrtko Dolić – Cluster Head Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary, Sobi
• Nikolina Dizdar Čehulić, President of the Management Board, Pliva, HUP – Croatian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
• Gordana Pehnec Pavlović, independent consultant, HGK - Department for Industry, Sector for Industry and Sustainable Development
• Goranka Marušić Kontent, Advisor for European Affairs in Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, HALMED

12:00 - 12:10

KEYNOTE

Challenges of Financial Sustainability in the Healthcare System and the Role of Performance Measurement

Keynote speaker: 

Peter Lindgren, Director of the Swedish Institute for Health Economics (IHE)

12:10 – 12:40

Panel discussion:

Public Healthcare Without Debt — Myth or a Real Possibility

• Financial sustainability of the system — can public healthcare operate without debt
• The Swedish example of efficient and financially sustainable healthcare
• Why the Slovenian healthcare system operates without debt
•  A specific feature of the Croatian system is that it systematically generates debt to suppliers, primarily pharmaceutical distributors
• Digitalization as a tool for controlling public healthcare costs

Panelist: 

• Prof. Peter Lindgren, Director of the Swedish Institute for Health Economics (IHE)
• Ana Gongola, Croatian Employers’ Association – Pharmaceutical Industry Association, HUP. Member of the Management Board of Sandoz Croatia, and Director of Commercial Operations, Lek Slovenia
• Ivan Bekavac, Head of the Office for Recognition of Foreign Professional Qualifications, Chair of the Commission of the City of Zagreb, Croatian Medical Chamber
• Mirna Macur, Slovenian Quality Healthcare Agency

12:40 – 12:50

keynote

The Biotechnology Act – What can be expected?

12:50 – 13:20

Panel discussion:

Clinical Trials in Europe – Opportunities for Croatia

• Will the new Biotechnology Act ensure faster translation of innovations into practice and reduce barriers for research, startups, and industry?
• The EU’s position in the global clinical trials environment has significantly weakened, and urgent action is needed: the number of clinical trials has halved in just 10 years, from 22% (2013) to 12% (2023), while China increased its share from 5% to 18% over the same period.
• Is regulatory and tax simplification, as well as the streamlining of the approval and conduct of clinical trials, necessary?
• Why is Croatia significantly lagging behind the EU average in conducting clinical trials, and what changes are needed?

Panelists: 

• Maja Puklek, MPharm, Assessor for European affairs in the Department of Pharmacovigilance and Rational Pharmacotherapy, contact point for the Republic of Croatia in the Clinical Trials Coordination and Advisory Group (CTAG) at the European Commission HALMED
• Tatjana Ajhler Đuretek, Business Development and Registration Division, Belupo, HUP – Croatian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association
• Marko Lisac, Country Clinical Operations Head Adriatic, Abbvie

13:20 – 14:00

Lunch and networking

SESSION 3: HEALTHCARE OF TOMORROW

14:00 – 14:10

Keynote:

Shaping Healthier Food Environments in Europe: The Role of Fiscal Policy

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: 

Nicholas Hodac, Director General of UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe

14:1O – 15:00

Panel discussion:

Tax, education or regulation – which model really works?

• Recommendations from the “Croatia Health Profile” and EU Safe Hearts Plan – what are the actual obligations for member states?
• Prevention as an investment, not a cost — is Croatia following European models?
• What is the connection between fiscal policy and health — can tax policy encourage healthy habits and reduce long-term medical costs?
• Industry experience; Does education and transparent labeling work better than taxation?
• The Croatian sugar tax – revenues go into the general budget without being specifically earmarked for health
• Is there a plan for earmarking excise revenue from sugar into an educational program?
• Prevention as a fiscal measure and health as an investment rather than a cost – a phrase or a genuine policy commitment?

Panelists: 

• Biljana Borzan,  EU Parliament
• Zvonimir Marinović,  Customs, Ministry of Finance
• Nicholas Hodac, D UNESDA Soft Drinks Europe
• Verica Kralj,  Croatian Institute of Public Health
• Lejla Dautović,  Atlantic Group
• Borka Pezo, MD, PhD, Ritam Srca Association

15:00 - 15:10 

IN FOCUS:

Palliative Care in  Switzerland

Keynote Speaker:

H.E. Mrs. Beatrice Schaer, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary

15:10 - 15:20

IN FOCUS:

Rare Diseases – how much have we achieved in Croatia?

Keynote:

Ervina Bilić, MD, PhD, Hospital Centre Zagreb

15:20 – 15:50

Panel discussion:

Does Croatia Need a Rare Diseases Action Plan?

• Where does Croatia stand in implementing the EU Rare Disease Action Plan (RARE 2030), is it connected to the European Reference Networks (ERNs), and which centers are involved?
• What is the status of Croatia’s national plan for rare diseases?
• How many patients with rare diseases in Croatia wait more than five years for a diagnosis?
• What concrete steps are needed to shorten the diagnostic journey?
• How to ensure that new therapies are available to patients in all EU countries?
• EURORDIS–Rare Diseases Europe called on its member organisations and national alliances to become more actively involved in the discussion on the EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034, worth two trillion euros, which is currently in the negotiation phase in the Council of the EU – in order to determine how much funding will be allocated to healthcare and what Croatia is actively doing to secure the most favourable position.

Panelists: 

• Ervina Bilić, Hospital Centre Zagreb
• Sara Bajlo,  President of the Croatian Alliance for Rare Diseases
• Tvrtko Dolić, Cluster Head Croatia, Slovenia and Hungary, Sobi

15:50 – 16:00

CASE STUDY:

 Next-Generation Hospital Healthcare

16:00 – 16:30

PANEL DISCUSSION: 

Hospitals of the Future

• Should Croatia reconsider how its hospital system is organized and how healthcare budgets are allocated?
• Why are Croatian hospitals structurally operating in deficit and is a reorganization of hospitals and the hospital system necessary?
• Could a strategically designed long-term care system, as suggested in the Croatia Health Profile, ease pressure on hospitals and help reduce healthcare costs?

Panelists: 

• Aron Grubešić,  Country Representative, Acibadem Healthcare Group
• Ivan Bekavac,  Head of the Office for Recognition of Foreign Professional Qualifications, Chair of the Commission of the City of Zagreb, Croatian Medical Chamber
• Jelena Curać, Assistant Director of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) for Information Technologies
• Siniša Košćina, Mergers, Acquisitions and Business Development Director, Healthcare at IN2 Group

16:30 – 16:40

Coffee break

SESSION 4: DIGITAL CHALLENGES AND THE ROLE OF MONITORING TREATMENT OUTCOMES

16:40 – 16:50

KEYNOTE:

Why Measuring Treatment Outcomes Matters

Keynote speaker:

Igor Lerman, Director, IQVIA Adriatic

16:50 - 17:20

Panel discussion:

Outcomes and Data-Driven Healthcare

• How can treatment outcomes become a real measure of health system performance?
• Why do health outcomes in Croatia remain insufficiently improved despite investment and access to high-cost therapies?
• Can AI, digitalization, and analytics help reduce complications and improve patients’ quality of life?
• Financial sustainability of the system – can the Croatian healthcare system operate without debt – myth or a realistic possibility?
• Is Croatia still lacking a national digital health strategy that includes registries, interoperability, and analytics?

Panelists: 

• Igor Lerman, Director, IQVIA Adriatic
• Maja Vajagić, Croatian Institute of Public Health
• Peter Lindgren, Director of the Swedish Institute for Health Economics (IHE)
• Jelena Curać, Assistant Director of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund (HZZO) for Information Technologies

17:20 - 18:00

Conclusions and closing remarks