Event: Strengthening the nursing workforce in the EU

Date: 12 May 2026
Location: Online and in Brussels
‍Languages: EN–ES (others depending on registration)
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Strengthening the nursing workforce in the European Health Union: professional competence, autonomy and sustainable care systems

International Nurses’ Day at the European Parliament, room XX
Hosted by MEP Nicolas González Casares, Member of the Committee on Public Health

Please register here!
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You are warmly invited to attend an honorary conference on International Nurses’ Day on 12 May 2026 at the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels, or to join us online.

Hosted by MEP Nicolas González Casares, member of the Committee on Public Health, the conference offers a timely opportunity to recognise the vital role of the nursing profession while engaging in a forward-looking policy discussion on how to strengthen nursing careers and healthcare systems across the Union.

This conference is organised in the context of the European Health Union and responds to the growing challenges currently facing health systems across the European Union. Increasing and more complex care needs, combined with adverse demographic trends such as population ageing and declining workforce availability, are placing sustained pressure on healthcare systems and their capacity to deliver high-quality, accessible care. These structural challenges are further compounded by difficult working conditions and persistent difficulties in the recruitment and retention of health professionals, particularly nurses, whose contribution is essential to the resilience and effectiveness of health services.

Against this backdrop, EU policy instruments such as the Professional Qualifications Directive, alongside initiatives on skills development, upskilling and reskilling, play a key role in workforce planning and professional mobility. The European Parliament’s own-initiative report on a European plan to address the health workforce crisis further underlines the need for coordinated, long-term EU action, notably on working conditions, professional development and professional autonomy.

Drawing on MEP Casares’ professional background as a nurse, the conference will contribute to evidence-based policy discussions on addressing the health workforce crisis and reinforcing the sustainability of European health systems.

The programme will focus on professional competence in nursing specialties and advanced nursing practice, highlighting the evolving role of nurses as key intermediaries between health services and the population. Central themes will include professional autonomy, health promotion and disease prevention, community-based intervention, and co-governance in health. Through these perspectives, the conference will highlight the capacity of nurses to act as effective bridges between institutions, communities and individuals, thereby supporting more integrated, preventive and participatory approaches to healthcare delivery.

Agenda (tbc):

09:00 – Opening and welcome remarks
Nicolás González Casares, member of the European Parliament, member of the Committee on Public Health

09:15 – Setting the stage and key issues
Klaus Heeger, CESI Secretary General

09:20 – Skills development of nurses worldwide and their contribution to sustainable health systems.
Jose Luis Cobos, President of the International Council of Nurses

09:40 – Health outcomes of advanced practice nursing in Europe: new healthcare models of co-governance with the User
Margrieta Langins, Nursing and Midwifery Policy Advisor, WHO Regional Office for Europe

09:55 - Success stories of advanced practice nursing in the Netherlands
Joost Veldt, (CNV Connectief) Vice- President of CESI’s Expert Commission ‘Healthcare Services’

10:05 – Policies and Regulations to Promote Professional Autonomy and Decision-Making by Nurses in Spain
Paloma Repila (SATSE), Chair of the CESI expert commission ‘Healthcare Services’

10:15 – Community interventions by nurses from the perspective of patients and their caregivers
NN, National Patients' Association

10:30 – Open discussion with other members of the European Parliament and participants

10:50 – Looking to the future of the nursing profession: closing remarks
Laura África Villaseñor Roa, (SATSE), President

Following the conference, discussions will continue at the CESI premises with the meeting of the CESI’s expert commission ‘Healthcare Services’:

11:30 – Opening of the meeting of the CESI expert commission on 'Healthcare Services'
Klaus Heeger, Secretary-General of CESI

11:35 – Priorities of the expert commission in CESI’s 2026 work programme in line with the European priorities (for example potential directive on psychosocial risks at work)
Raluca Radescu, Policy Officer, CESI
NN, Mental Health Europe

12:05 – The Quality Job Act and its impact for healthcare workforce
NN, European Commission, Cabinet of the Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills
NN, Policy Advisor, CESI

12:35 – Way forward? Latest Developments concerning the latest European Parliament report INI 2025/2062 on the European health workforce crisis plan
NN, European Parliament

13:00 – 13:30 Light lunch

13:30 – Exchanges of information on national practices in healthcare staffing and collective bargaining

14:00 – Any other business and decision on the date of the next meeting
Paloma Repila (SATSE), President of CESI’s expert commission ‘Healthcare Services’