The Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) will host two international workshops on May 29 and 30, where experts from across Europe will discuss the shared values of healthcare systems and the legal challenges posed by digitalisation in health.
This week, Cantabria will welcome an important international academic gathering, bringing together European specialists in health law and bioethics. Over two days of work sessions, on May 29 and 30, IDIVAL will be the venue for two workshops addressing key issues for the future of health governance in Europe. These events are organised by the Health Law and Bioethics Research Group and led by Joaquín Cayón.
Rethinking Common Values for a Genuine European Health Union
The first meeting, titled “Revisiting the 2006 Health Values and Principles: Contribution to a Real European Health Union?”, will take place on May 29. This workshop arises from the need to review the document approved in 2006 on health values and principles in the European Union, as it approaches its 20th anniversary in a context shaped by digitalisation, pandemics, demographic changes, and widening health inequalities.
Experts will reflect on issues such as incorporating new concepts — One Health, sustainability, or the principle of “leaving no one behind” —, the need to adapt legal and political language, and broadening the focus beyond patients to include healthcare professionals and vulnerable populations.
Digitalisation at the Centre of the European Health Law Debate
On May 30, the second workshop will be held under the title “Digitalisation and EU Health Law: New Challenges, Opportunities and Concerns”. This session is part of a series of annual meetings promoted by Professor Tamara Hervey, as part of the development of a section on European Health Law for the Oxford Encyclopaedia of EU Law.
Throughout the day, participants will analyse the impact of digitalisation across different areas of European healthcare: from data protection and medical device management to access to services, regulation of substances of human origin, and the governance of unhealthy products. Additionally, they will debate a collective concept paper on how to structure this cross-cutting area within European law.
International and Multidisciplinary Participation
Both sessions will feature leading experts from European institutions (European Parliament) and universities from ten countries: the United Kingdom (City St George’s University of London and Liverpool John Moores University), the Netherlands (Erasmus University Rotterdam, University of Amsterdam, and Leiden University), Belgium (Ghent University), Italy (Roma Tre University), Austria (MCI Innsbruck), Sweden (Uppsala University), Ireland (Maynooth University), France (Aix-Marseille University), Poland (University of Gdansk), and Ukraine (National Aviation University of Kyiv). From Spain, researchers from the IDIVAL Health Law and Bioethics Research Group — an institute integrated by the Regional Health Ministry and the University of Cantabria — will also participate.
Cantabria, an International Meeting Point for Health
With this double appointment, Cantabria and IDIVAL consolidate their role as a strategic forum for health reflection in Europe, contributing from the region to essential debates for the future European Health Union and addressing the ethical, legal, and social challenges posed by digitalisation in the healthcare sector.
