Proposal and Collaboration with the European Commission
On January 15, 2025, Mr. Olivér Várhelyi, European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare participated in the EUDF strategy workshop.
The Commissioner announced that the Commission will prepare a plan covering the cardiovascular-diabetes-obesity triangle, which would focus on prevention, early detection and equitable access to care. He highlighted the vital role of health data as the next raw material and how data must be optimally used as a competitive advantage to bring innovative treatments faster to the people. He emphasized the importance of early detection and screening as the first line of action to prevent and/or to optimally manage diabetes.
EUDF stands ready to support the Commission’s efforts by:
Providing Expert Information
The Commission can rely on EUDF and its partners to provide all the necessary data, insights, good practices and evidence-based recommendations to take informed decisions.
Translating Research into Policy
The diabetes community can help bridge the gap between groundbreaking research and actionable policy, ensuring that discoveries lead to meaningful improvements in diabetes care.
Prioritizing Actions
In the face of limited resources, EUDF can offer targeted advice to help the Commission to identify and prioritize the most impactful actions.
Read the full statement here:
Collaboration with the European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare
Proposals for Policymakers
The Diabetes Community Pledge contains 15 concrete policy recommendations addressed to the European Union and to Member States to improve the lives of People with Diabetes and those at risk
As we rethink the priorities for the next mandate, we call on policymakers to understand what is at stake and implement the right policies at every level of government, whether European, national or regional.
What matters to our community is to get things done. Together, we can ensure people with diabetes in Europe live longer and more fulfilling lives, avoid preventable costs and strengthen the resilience and sustainability of health systems.
The Diabetes Community Pledge has been developed by a broad coalition of organisations working in the field of diabetes and supporting people with diabetes.
Several Members of the European Parliament (MEP) take a stand for the diabetes community and joined the diabetes pledge
MEP Ljudmila Novak
(EPP, Slovenia)
MEP István Ujhelyi
(S&D, Hungary)
MEP Elżbieta Łukacijewska
(EPP, Poland)
MEP Ondřej Knotek
(Renew, Czechia)
MEP Radka Maxová
(S&D, Czechia)
MEP Sirpa Pietikäinen
(EPP, Finland)
What can you do?
Endorse the Diabetes Community Pledge Register your name, email and function here.
EUDF will publish all supporters on their website and social media.
Post about the Pledge on social media with the hashtags #DiabetesPledge or #TakeAStand .
Reach out to your national and European Members of Parliament and ask them to support the Pledge!
Read and share the Diabetes Community Pledge in your language
JACARDI
EUDF is a member of the stakeholder advisory board of JACARDI.
JACARDI is the Joint Action of the European Union that supports European countries in reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, at both individual and health system levels.
The project has six focus areas to cover the entire patient journey. The experts assigned to these areas of focus are grouped into project teams, also known as Work Packages.
- Health literacy and awareness
- Data availability, quality, accessibility and sharing
- Screening high-risk populations and individuals
- Integrated care pathways
- Patients’ Self-management
- Labour participation of people living with CVD or DM
EDENT1FI
EUDF is an official partner in the EDENT1FI project, with a key role in communication and dissemination of the work towards policymakers.
EDENT1FI is a global collaboration between 27 partners in 13 countries from academia, industry and patient organizations, bringing their knowledge and experience together with one common goal: "To arrest type 1 diabetes at the pre-clinical phase“. This 5-year Horizon Europe project is coordinated by the team of Prof. Chantal Mathieu of the KU Leuven (Belgium) and co-coordinated by the team of Prof. Anette G. Ziegler of the Helmholtz Munich (Germany).
At EDENT1FI, we are working to revolutionize how we tackle Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) in European children. By using specific markers, our goals include finding T1D early, managing it before symptoms appear, developing new treatments, refining how we detect it, and raising awareness. Our overarching mission is to make a meaningful impact on understanding, caring for, and preventing T1D through widespread screening and collaboration.
These are the Work packages:
- Screening
- Impact of screening
- Monitoring
- Master protocol
- Communication
- Project management
Meeting the diabetes challenge
Diabetes remains one of the most misunderstood and underestimated of all common medical conditions.
What can be done to address the diabetes challenge?
The EUDF's recommendations pinpoint three areas where – if certain steps are taken – progress is readily within reach: integrated care, registries, and digital technologies.