PHSSR European Union Investing in Health 2025

28 Investing in Health for a Competitive, Secure, and Resilient Europe: A Strategic Call to Action The Partnership for Health System Sustainability and ResilienceInitiatives such as the European Reference Networks (ERNs) demonstrate the value of cross-border collaboration and best practice exchange in health.135 By the end of 2023, the ERNs had already exceeded 2027 targets on both the number of centres involved with ERNs and the number of patients diagnosed and treated by ERNs.136 Building on the successful ERN model, the ongoing Joint Action on Networks of Expertise is establishing seven transversal oncology networks, serving as a pilot for care delivery in broader disease areas.137 Beyond formal EU-level initiatives, knowledge transfer enables health systems to exchange key learnings and build on proven strategies. Evaluations can identify challenges in implementing health system transformation while highlighting effective implementation models that could be adopted across health systems. Fostering more consistent collaboration between Member States with a mechanism for transferring learnings could enhance efficiency and adoption of best practices at the EU level. Greater accountability will support more efficient investments in health and enhance support for the complementarity of EU policies. Recommendations � Conduct cross-fund evaluations at the country level to assess deployment, disbursement, synergies, objectives, outcomes, and next steps—while ensuring alignment with relevant EU documentation and strategic frameworks. � Streamline and rationalise KPIs for beneficiaries to ensure they are measurable, meaningful, and proportionate—minimising administrative burden while enhancing accountability and impact assessment. � Strengthen the work of the Reform and Investment Task Force by advancing the development of a structured feedback mechanism to EU institutions. This should facilitate the widespread dissemination and uptake of lessons learned from high-impact Member State projects, improve cross-border collaboration, and enhance the visibility of successful initiatives at the EU level.