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 – 09:30 

Opening interview:

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

09:30 – 09:40

IN FOCUS 

EU Cardiovascular Plan and Croatian National Priorities

09:40 – 10:20

Panel discussion:

'The New Anatomy of Health: What Decisions Must We Make'

• Concrete levers of effectiveness: prevention, priorities, and investments in measurable outcomes (1)
• Shift towards early diagnosis and timely access to care (2)
• How to ensure a faster patient journey through the system? (3)
• What does the European plan for cardiovascular diseases bring, and what does it mean for Croatia? (4)
• Does the EU plan for cancer control meet its goals, and how to stop the obesity pandemic? (5)
• 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?

(1) OECD – Health at a Glance 2025
(2) OECD – Waiting times / timely access
(3) OECD – Waiting times and access management tools
(4) European Commission – Cardiovascular health (Safe Hearts Plan)
(5) European Parliament Think Tank – Beating Cancer Plan implementation findings

10:20 – 10:30

Keynote:

The state of Croatian Healthcare: What Does the “Health Profile of Croatia” Tell Us? -  Report by the OECD, European Observatory for Health System and Policies, European Commission

10:30 – 11:10

Panel discussion:

How to Design a Healthcare System That Meets the Needs of Croatian Citizens

• High mortality from preventable causes: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, and cancer (1)
• Can we improve healthcare and extend healthy life years within the next 5–10 years? (2)
• The role of system organization: access, early diagnosis, and continuity of care (3)
• Key risk factors: smoking, alcohol, obesity… (4)
• What are the priority measures with the greatest impact on population health? (5)
• What can we expect from the announced European Commission proposal for a unified tax on food with excessive sugar, salt and fat? 

(1) OECD – Croatia Country Health Profile 2025
(2) OECD – Health at a Glance 2025
(3) OECD – Waiting times / access
(4) OECD – Croatia Country Health Profile 2025 (risk factors)
(5) OECD – Health at a Glance 2025 (prevention/high-impact interventions)

11:10 – 11:20

COFFEE BREAK

SESSION 2. EU LEGISLATION AND THE EUROPEAN HEALTH UNION

11:20 – 11:30

Keynote:

'EU Regulation in Practice – What Changes for Patients and System'

11:30 – 12:10

Panel discussion:

''Access to innovative technologies and Security of Supply. Can EU and Croatian Healthcare System Deliver it all?”  

• 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)

(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

12:10 - 12:30

Fireside chat: 

Rare Diseases – Where Does Croatia Stand?

12:30 – 12:40

Keynote:

EU Wastewater Directive and the Supply of Medicines

12:40 – 13:20

Panel discussion:

EU Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive: Will Croatia Run Out of Medicines?

• Member States on alert over the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive – could Europe face medicine shortages?

• The price of the Directive: shortages or significantly more expensive medicines?

• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): will medicines in Croatia become dramatically more expensive?

• What is Croatia doing to seek changes to the provisions on “extended producer responsibility”?

• Could the implementation of the Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (UWWTD) threaten the long-term sustainability of Croatia’s healthcare system?

13:20 – 13:30

Keynote:

'The New EU Biotechnology Act – What Can Be Expected?'

13:30 – 14:10

Panel discussion:

Clinical Trials in Europe - Opportunities for Croatia

• The EU is losing its share of clinical trials: what is behind the decline and what are the consequences? (1)
• Regulatory simplification: do we need faster, clearer, and more predictable approvals for studies? (2)
• How can the EU become attractive again for research and investment that lead to better patient outcomes? (3)
• What are the key barriers to conducting clinical trials (costs, timelines, administration, capacity)? (4)
• What priorities and actions are needed for the EU to become a preferred biotech destination? (5)

(1) EFPIA – assessing the clinical trial ecosystem in Europe (report)
(2) EU Clinical Trials Regulation (EU) No 536/2014 – EUR-Lex
(3) EFPIA – clinical trial ecosystem report (investment/competitiveness)
(4) EFPIA – clinical trial ecosystem report (barriers)
(5) EFPIA – clinical trial ecosystem report (priorities)

14:10 – 14:40

Lunch and networking

SESSION 3: DIGITAL CHALLENGES AND MONITORING TREATMENT OUTCOMES

14:40 – 14:50

Keynote:

Why Measuring Treatment Outcomes Matters

14:50 – 15:30

Panel discussion:

Outcomes and Data Driven Healthcare

• Croatia ranks among the highest in the EU for mortality from preventable chronic diseases
• Why are cancer treatment outcomes in Croatia not improving despite decades of new therapies and investment?
• How can outcome measurement and patient follow-up become a standard for quality-of-care management?
• AI and digitalization: can they accelerate healthcare transformation?
• Digital health strategy: system integration

15:30 – 15:40

Case Study:

Next-Generation Hospital Healthcare

15:40 – 16:20

Panel discussion:

“Hospitals of the Future: The Role of Family Medicine and Pharmacy in Healthcare”

• Should Croatia reconsider how the hospital system is organized and how the budget is allocated?
• The role of pharmacists in disease prevention and treatment and their impact on treatment outcomes
• The role of primary healthcare in extending healthy life years
• Can a strategically designed long-term care system, as suggested by the Health Profile of Croatia, relieve the pressure on hospitals and reduce healthcare costs?

16:20 – 16:30

Coffee break

SESSION 4: HEALTH – COST OR INVESTMENT

16:30 – 16:40

In focus: 

Challenges of Financial Sustainability in the Healthcare System

16:40 – 17:10

Panel discussion:

“Croatian Healthcare Without Debt — Myth or Reality?”

• Finance and health: fiscal policy and healthy habits
• Why do Croatian hospitals structurally operate in deficit and who bears responsibility?
• Prevention as investment, not cost — is Croatia following European models?
• What is the connection between fiscal policy and health — can tax policy incentivize healthy habits and reduce long-term treatment costs?
• The EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034: a proposed budget of two trillion euros is currently under negotiation in the EU Council — how much will be allocated to health and what is Croatia actively doing to secure the most favorable position?
• Croatia ranks near the bottom of the EU in smoking cessation program effectiveness — what are the effective harm reduction strategies and is there a plan for earmarking tobacco and alcohol excise revenues for prevention and cessation programs?
• The Croatian sugar tax in the context of the announced European Commission plan to introduce tax on beverages and food high in sugar, salt and fat

17:10 – 17:15

Conclusions and closing remarks

17:15 – 18:00

Afterwork networking