EUREGHA Working Group on Cross-Boarder Health Collaboration- Autumn meeting 2025

On 3 November 2025, EUREGHA hosted the autumn meeting of its Working Group on Cross-Border Healthcare, bringing together regional representatives and experts to discuss ongoing challenges and emerging solutions in delivering healthcare across borders. The session offered an opportunity to reflect on practical experiences from border regions and highlight initiatives aimed at improving patient access and joint service delivery.

The meeting featured contributions from three WG Members:

• Daniela Gornyk (Cross-border Institute of Healthcare Systems and Prevention – CBI) shared insights from CBI’s work between the Netherlands and Germany, drawing on outcomes from their recent  Symposium on Cross-border Healthcare in the DE-NL Border Region. Her intervention addressed key issues such as patient mobility, access to services, and the legal and administrative barriers that continue to shape cross-border cooperation, while outlining innovative approaches to improve care pathways.
• Gyula Ocskay (Central European Service for Cross-Border Initiatives – CESCI) provided an overview of Central and Eastern European initiatives, describing the progress made in harmonizing emergency medical services between Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary, including recent bilateral treaties enabling cross-border rescue services and complementary hospital care.
• Xavier Conill Vergés (GECT Hospital de la Cerdanya) provided the case study of Cerdanya hospital from the Catalonia–France border, a unique example on how shared resources, joint governance arrangements, and strong regional cooperation can effectively respond to the needs of border populations, but diving also into the obstacles faced.

Discussions touched on a range of topics, including patient mobility, administrative and legal obstacles, infrastructure requirements, and opportunities for enhanced collaboration among regions.

The meeting reaffirmed the importance of sustained cooperation and knowledge exchange to strengthen cross-border healthcare, ensuring that regional perspectives continue to inform EU-level policy debates.

About the Working Group on Cross-border Healthcare:

The Working Group on Cross-border Healthcare is a platform where EUREGHA members – regional representatives and experts – can exchange knowledge, best practices, information, and expertise on cross-border cooperation in healthcare. The WG aims, on one side, to facilitate knowledge exchange between members and, on the other side, to improve members’ and network’s advocacy, policy, and project actions at the EU level.