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| Focus on UEMO General Assembly |
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Outcomes of the UEMO General Assembly, Skopje, 3 and 4 October 2025 |
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| UEMO held its Autumn General Assembly in Skopje, North Macedonia, on 3 and 4 October, with the presence of delegations from 20 countries, observers from two countries and representatives from five European Medical Organizations (European Union of Medical Specialists, European Junior Doctors, European Federation of Salaried Doctors, Standing Committee of European Doctors, and European Medical Students Association (EMSA).
Professor Kalina Grivcheva Stardelova, President of the Doctors’ Chamber of North Macedonia, delivered a keynote speech and outlined the organization of the primary healthcare system in North Macedonia. Unfortunately, the number of GPs /Family Physicians and the number of new contracts signed appear to be dwindling in North Macedonia.
Dr Sashka Janevska, from Medical University Skopje, Centre for Family Medicine, explains that family medicine was established in North Macedonia over 25 years ago through a World Bank Project and with the collaboration of consultants from the Department of Family Medicine in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Apart from a three-year residency program in family medicine, it is possible for doctors working in primary care without specialty training to retrain for 3-12 months and obtain the title of specialist in family medicine.
Four statements were approved at the General Assembly: UEMO statement on the role of GPs/Family Physicians in the provision of Palliative Care, affirming that palliative care is an integral part of General Practice / Family Medicine and should be recognized as a core responsibility of family physicians across Europe, with available training at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Position Statement on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Family Medicine, advocating for the integration of AI as a tool to augment, not replace, the clinical judgement and the essential human elements of the doctor-patient relationship. It also called for concerted action, including investment in robust infrastructure and AI literacy training for clinicians, the co-design of AI tools with physicians and patients to meet real-world needs, and the establishment of funding mechanisms to ensure equitable access.
The Plenary voted favourably regarding the admission of the Association of General Practitioners and family doctors of the area of Karditsa, Greece, as observers, with immediate effect. The partnership with the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) is evolving, with the number of accredited events by UEMO rising in 2025 compared to 2024. |
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| | | UEMO Hosts 3rd European Alliance Meeting in Brussels to Advance Family Medicine Recognition and Workforce Development |
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| On February 27, UEMO President Tiago Villanueva and UEMO Secretary General Catarina Matias hosted representatives in the UEMO office in Brussels from WONCA Europe, EURACT, UEMS (Nada Cikes), European Commission (Petronille Bogaert), and European Parliament (MEP Tilly Metz) at the 3rd meeting of the European Alliance for Primary-Care Workforce Development, an informal group of European family medicine organizations. The topics discussed included advances in the recognition of Family Medicine as a specialty in Europe, European Parliament health workforce report, lobbying in European institutions, engagement with European stakeholders, and development of a European Training Requirement (ETR) for general practice/family medicine. |
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UEMO President attended the UEMS Council meeting in Tbilisi |
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| UEMO participated in two major EU Health Technology Assessment (HTA) events in Brussels on July 1–2, 2025. During the Stakeholders’ Meeting, UEMO announced a forthcoming Memorandum of UUEMO President Tiago Villanueva attended the UEMS Council meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia (17-18 October) and participated in a panel discussion session chaired by Dr Marc Hermans (UEMS) on the topic “The advancement of Disaster Medicine in Europe”, along with representatives from other European Medical Organizations (AEMH, CEOM, CPME EJD, FEMS). He stressed the central role of General Practitioners / Family Physicians as first responders in mass casualty events and the need for training in risk assessment, community triage, continuity planning, and psychosocial support, as well as integration with civil protection, hospital networks, and NGOs.
UEMO was acknowledged by Professor Lina Zabuliene, President of UEMS Multidisciplinary Joint Committee on Adolescent Medicine and Health, for its input to the European Training Requirements for Competence in Transitional Care of Adolescents and Young Adults. |
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| | UEMO Advocates for Recognition of Family Medicine as a European Specialty at CPME Meeting in Athens |
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| Calin Bumbulut, the immediate past President of UEMO and a member of the Romanian delegation to UEMO, represented UEMO at the CPME meeting in Athens on October 24-25. He stated that recognition of the specialty as a European specialty remained our primary objective. The UEMO strategy, which we call the “dual path”, does not envisage the transformation of “specific training in general practice” into a specialty, but the introduction of a new specialty called Family Medicine/General Practice through the delegated act provided for in Directive 55 and the maintenance of the qualification of “specific training in general practice”, applicable to a decreasing number of health professionals in primary care. So far, 3 countries – Bulgaria, Slovenia, and Romania – have submitted or will submit the necessary notifications to the European Commission through their competent authorities. We still need 8 more Member States to do so, and we ask that other countries join this action. |
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| | UEMO joins EMA’s “It Takes a Team” campaign |
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| UEMO is proud to be part of the EMA’s new “It Takes a Team” campaign, launched on the 4th of November to raise awareness about the shared responsibility of tackling medicine shortages across Europe. |
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| | UEMO supports the Coalition for Vaccination’s call to boost vaccine coverage in Europe |
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| UEMO, as a member of the Coalition for Vaccination, supports the Coalition’s 10 February 2026 appeal urging EU countries to strengthen vaccination programmes, tackle misinformation, and remove access barriers. Vaccination against influenza, SARS-CoV-2, RSV, pneumococcal disease, herpes zoster, and HPV remains a safe, effective way to protect patients and communities.
Read the Full Coalition Statement to learn the recommendations and next steps. |
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| | | | | Structural reform: responsibility for primary care transferred to 21 wellbeing services counties (plus Helsinki), leading to increasing centralisation and planned closure of small rural health centres due to cost-saving and recruitment challenges. Financial pressure and access: the maximum waiting time in primary care extended from 14 days to 3 months, alongside funding cuts to counties required to eliminate deficits by 2026 (possible extension to 2028). Continuity and pilots: promotion of a “family doctor” patient list system with several pilots, and a 2-year pilot (from Sept 2025), allowing people aged 65+ to access private GPs at public centre fees to improve access.
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| | Coverage gap: around 1.64–1.67 million people without a family doctor in mid-2025, heavily concentrated in Lisbon and Tagus Valley, reflecting persistent maldistribution and retention issues. Workforce instability: 389 new specialists trained in 2025, but only 231 joined the National Health Service (SNS) despite 585 vacancies; over 300 residents resigned, showing difficulties in retaining trainees and reliance on locums. Government response and financial risks: measures announced to contract private doctors and reorganise emergency networks (Sept 2025), while the system faces a significant deficit and reforms do not fully address structural causes.
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| | Contractual crisis and 10-Year Plan dispute: formal disputes with government across nations over funding, GP independence and patient safety, particularly linked to the NHS 10-Year Health Plan and new access requirements (including online demand management). Workforce and workload imbalance: continued fall in FTE GP numbers since 2015, rising patient lists (over 63 million registered), increasing closures/mergers, and reports of unemployment or underemployment among newly trained GPs Physician Associate regulation: strong opposition to expansion without a strict scope of practice; the government accepted review recommending renaming to “assistants” and limiting undifferentiated patient care, but legal and professional tensions persist.
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| | Training reform: introduction of a fourth year in GP specialty training (ambulatory consolidation phase) from 2026–2027, with new remuneration and supervision allowances defined by decree. Tackling medical deserts and territorial organisation: adoption of legislation (June 2025) to strengthen access (student quotas and alternative pathways) and launch of the “France Santé” network aiming for 5,000 multiprofessional centres by 2027, though funding and staffing remain uncertain. Budgetary constraints: strong pressure for savings (around €3.9 billion proposed for 2026), with ongoing GP concerns about delayed fee revaluation and cost-containment measures.
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| | Digital skills reform: launch of a large EU-funded training programme (160-hour transversal module + specific medical training) to strengthen GP competences in AI, telemedicine, big data, cybersecurity, and digital ethics. EU recognition of Family Medicine: formal request by the Primary Care Physicians Forum to include General/Family Medicine in Annex V (5.1.3) of Directive 2005/36/EC to reinforce specialty recognition at the EU level. International advocacy: presentation of the “Gaza Declaration” condemning violations of International Humanitarian Law and attacks on healthcare workers, calling for humanitarian access and protection of medical staff.
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| | Dual practice restriction reform: May 2025 amendments to the Health Care Act introduce strict separation between public and private sectors, limiting simultaneous employment and regulating market-based services. Industrial and constitutional tensions: longest doctors’ strike (2024–25) over pay and workload; unions filed a constitutional challenge against dual-practice limits, warning of potential shift of doctors to full private practice. Primary care restructuring: implementation of Primary Care Strategy 2031, revised GP payment model (capitation + fee-for-service), new access incentives, and digitalisation reforms, with ongoing concerns about workforce capacity and funding sustainability.
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| | EU recognition of Family Medicine: A meeting with the Ministry of Health has been scheduled for March 18 to discuss submitting a report to the EU Commission on recognizing the specialization in family medicine. During this meeting, the importance of including this specialization in Annex 5.1.3 in line with other medical specialties will be raised. The topic will also be presented at a Croatian congress on March 14 to inform key health institutions and stakeholders.
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| | Commission launches “BE READY” European Partnership to strengthen pandemic preparedness research ecosystem |
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| On the 17th of February, the European Commission launched BE READY, a new European Partnership for pandemic preparedness.
Through this initiative, the European Union intends to reinforce its capacity to anticipate, prevent, and respond rapidly to epidemics and pandemics. BE READY will focus on advancing research on emerging and re-emerging pathogens and accelerating the development of diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines.
The BE READY Partnership’s work is built on the following key pillars: Aligning national research priorities among participating countries and improving coordination in pandemic preparedness research through an agreed strategic and research innovation agenda
Supporting multi-national research through joint transnational calls, enabling coordinated funding among national and European funders to advance research on emerging & re-emerging pathogens, and accelerating innovation in diagnostics, treatments & vaccines development
Integrating all key components of the research ecosystem so that they are operational both in periods between epidemics and during crises.
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| | European Health Data Space: Implementation timeline and next steps (EHDS) |
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| The European Health Data Space Regulation entered into force in March 2025, and the Commission has until 26 March 2027 to adopt several implementing acts that set out the technical and governance details required for rollout. The remaining political debate now centres on practical implementation: governance models, cross-border access rules, interoperability specifications and safeguards for sensitive health data.
These implementing acts are critical because they convert high-level legal principles into machine-readable standards and access procedures that will determine how medical records and other health data flow across borders. Key implementation elements to be delivered by the deadline include: Technical specifications for conformance (EEHRxF) and data quality requirements for primary use. Governance rules, national competent authorities’ roles, and modalities for researcher and commercial access under strict safeguards. Interoperability and common semantic standards to reduce administrative burdens and enable safe data exchange
The EHDS will reshape cross-border access to patient records, affect how GPs are asked to share/receive data, and could change administrative workflows — so early engagement will be essential to protect clinicians’ time and patients’ privacy.
You can have a look at the official Q&A on the EHDS here |
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European Medicines Agency (EMA) overview of the human medicines in 2025 |
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In January 2026, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published its annual overview of human medicines authorised in 2025, highlighting a strong year for pharmaceutical innovation and regulatory activity across the European Union.
According to the report, EMA recommended 104 medicines for marketing authorisation in 2025, of which 38 contained a new active substance never previously authorised in the EU, underscoring continued scientific progress and the arrival of novel therapeutic options for patients.
The 2025 overview also highlights broader trends shaping pharmaceutical regulation, including the rise of advanced therapies, the increasing role of real-world evidence, and efforts to address medicine shortages and improve patient access across Member States
For general practitioners and primary care systems, these developments are significant: they signal the continued arrival of innovative medicines into routine clinical practice, alongside a growing need to stay informed about new therapeutic options, biosimilars, and updated indications that may impact prescribing patterns in the coming years.
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| | AI Act implementation & guidance for health applications |
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| Throughout 2026, the Commission’s AI Office and related teams plan to publish a suite of practical guidelines to help organisations, including those deploying AI in healthcare, apply the AI Act’s high-risk rules and transparency obligations. These guidelines are intended to make the Act operational (classification of high-risk systems, templates for fundamental-rights impact assessments, incident reporting formats, and post-market monitoring guidance).
The objective is to reduce legal uncertainty for developers, clinicians, and regulators and to promote trustworthy AI that supports clinical decision-making without undermining patient safety or doctors’ responsibilities.
Under the expected guidance package, the Commission will: Publish templates and step-by-step guidance for high-risk classification decisions and impact assessments. Clarify interaction with data protection rules and the practical meaning of transparency and human oversight for clinical AI. Offer a voluntary post-market monitoring template to support ongoing safety and performance checks.
This practical guidance will help GPs and primary-care IT providers decide whether a clinical AI tool is safe to adopt, how to document use, and what to ask vendors for (e.g., performance data, oversight arrangements).
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EU health priorities for 2026: Prevention, data, and innovation |
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In 2026, the EU’s health agenda will emphasise disease prevention (particularly chronic diseases), narrowing access inequalities, and leveraging health data and digital tools to underpin public-health policy and research. Horizon Europe and EU health programmes are directing funding and calls to prevention, digital health, and innovation that directly involve primary care networks.
This orientation is meant to strengthen system resilience, free capacity for acute care, and accelerate uptake of validated digital tools in everyday practice. |
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