Securing health and social systems for the next generation.

The coronavirus pandemic puts massive pressure on European health and social systems and poses enormous challenges for the European Union. To ensure that people can still be provided with good care tomorrow, the right decisions must be made today. Sustainable solutions for organising care and financing the systems are required.

The European Representation of the German Social Insurance (DSV) will address two relevant topics at an online conference on 28 October 2020. Discussions will take place with high-ranking political decision-makers from Brussels and Berlin, industry and the German Social Insurance. The detailed programme can be found here.

Medicines for future generations – greater supply reliability through strategic independence?

Following a keynote speech by Tiemo Wölken, Member of the European Parliament, Dr Doris Pfeiffer, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds (GKV-Spitzenverband), Sylvain Giraud, Department Head of the European Commission for Medical Devices, Dr Günther Sidl, Member of the European Parliament and Nathalie Moll, Director General of the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations, will discuss the current situation on the pharmaceutical market, existing challenges and possible solutions in a panel discussion. Among other things, the wish for greater safety, increased stockpiling of key pharmaceuticals and protective equipment as well as greater independence from production in third countries is addressed and perspectives are presented.

Self-employed persons under the pressure of the pandemic: What does social security for the next generation look like?

During the crisis, existing gaps in social protection have also become more visible, for example among the self-employed people and the platform workers. In order to be able to close them, the financing of the social security systems must be secured sustainably.

Following a keynote speech by Nicolas Schmit, the EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Björn Böhning, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, Gundula Roßbach, President of the German Pension Insurance Association, Dr Edlyn Höller, Deputy Managing Director of the German Statutory Accident Insurance, and Dennis Radtke, Member of the European Parliament, will discuss the topic from the perspective of European and Member State policies and the German social insurance institutions. The digitisation of the world of work and its consequences as well as the role of European minimum social standards will be highlighted.

Further details on participation

Participation in the DSV's online conference "Securing Health and Social Systems for the Next Generation" is open to all those interested in Europe and to take part just click here. The event is part of the associated programme of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs within the framework of the German EU Council Presidency 2020.