The EFN Members met in Brussels (Belgium) for the 120th EFN General Assembly, where key EU policy topics, having a huge impact on nurses and the nursing profession were discussed, as: EFN Advanced Practice Nursing developments in the EU; cybersecurity; Student Mentorship and Safe Staffing Levels (in the context of WHO Nursing Action EU project); Education (DIR55); Violence Against Nurses; Digitalisation; EHDS. The EFN members discussed and approved EFN Policy Statements on Micro-Credentials’, ‘Recognition of Qualifications of Third Country Nationals in line with Directive 2013/55/EU’, ‘Zero Violence Against Nurses’, ‘Cybersecurity’, ‘Sustainable Application of AI and Digitalisation’, ‘Electronic Health Record Systems’, ‘The transparent implementation of EHDS’.
With massive nursing shortages, the only sustainable long-term solution to the EU nursing shortages is domestic nursing workforce capacity-building, and any international recruitment must be done in compliance with the Directive 2013/55/EU. Furthermore, with rising violence against nurses, there is an urgent need for EU Legislation on zero-tolerance to violence against nurses. Therefore, the discussions and Policy Statements endorsed by the EFN Members are key to achieve the EFN policy objectives and developments, as outlined in the EFN SOLP 2021-2027, to impact the EU policy process.
The GA also featured some high-level interventions, including the one by MEP Tilly Metz (Luxembourg, the Greens/EFA), who informed the EFN Members on the work and priorities of the new SANT Committee, which is going to develop a new Own-Initiative (INI) Report on the EU Healthcare Workforce, co-developed with the EMPL Committee. In this regard, she emphasised the importance of calling on the European Commission to develop an EU Directive on Psychosocial risks at work for healthcare professionals, with mandatory safe-staffing levels to be implemented by the Member States!
Martin Le Vrang (Acting Head of Unit, DG EMPL Unit B5), on the other hand, informed the EFN Members on the ongoing implementation review of the Directive 2013/55/EU, emphasising that preliminary data demonstrate that Member States want to uphold the minimum education and training requirements for EU nurses. This is an important result for the EFN Members, as this is crucial to uphold high standards of care and patients safety in the EU and Europe!
The EFN also took the opportunity to collect key data on National/Regional/Local Cybersecurity Plans used in Hospitals and implemented by nurses, and on nurses’ shortage. This data is key for the EFN to better influence the EU institutions with concrete outcomes/data, and to advance the EU health agenda. The next EFN General Assembly will take place in Dublin, on 16-17 October 2025.