On 12 November 2019, EUREGHA chair Nick Batey participated in the panel debate of the 26th NAT Commission meeting. The policy debate took place to exchange views on the working document on “Cross-border healthcare cooperation” and Nick Batey was asked to contribute by sharing his experiences from a regional perspective.

The meeting proved to be the perfect moment to introduce the audience to EUREGHA’s  Joint Statement on “healthcare in cross-border regions”, which was presented on 17 October 2019. It is seen that the socio-economic development of border regions is often hindered because of their peripheral location and further differences in legislation compared to neighbouring countries. As 30% of the European population (roughly 150 million citizens) live in border areas, it is important to take notion of the differences between regions that are affecting healthcare systems which eventually lead to health inequalities.

During the meeting, Nick Batey emphasized the importance of removing obstacles leading to health inequality. Furthermore, he stated close cooperation by sharing good-practices allows regions to take into account diversity and different fields of focus. If you would like to know more about our Joint Statement, visit the dedicated webpage or contact the secretariat.