XX European Patients' Rights Day

12 May 2026 - European Parliament, Brussels

Personalised prevention must become a right for every citizen, not a privilege for a few

Personalised prevention must become a right for every citizen — not a privilege for a few. This was the central message of the XX European Patients' Rights Day, held on 12 May 2026 at the European Parliament in Brussels.

Organised by Cittadinanzattiva and its EU branch, the Active Citizenship Network, the event brought together EU institutions, researchers, patient organisations, healthcare professionals, and civil society to mark the twentieth anniversary of this initiative and to explore a new frontier in health policy: personalised prevention. More than 40 participants attended in person from at least 18 different countries, and the event received over 150 requests for online participation from 34 countries — a sign of the growing interest in this topic.

“Twenty years marks a significant milestone — not only because of the continuity of this initiative, but because it demonstrates the strength of a vision: a Europe of health built on rights, human dignity, and the active participation of citizens. The right to prevention was there from the very beginning. Today we are not simply celebrating it. We are watching it evolve — and we must be ready for it” said Daniela Quaggia, Senior Manager at Cittadinanzattiva-Active Citizenship Network.

The 2026 edition focused on the evolution of the Right to Preventive Measures — the very first right enshrined in the European Charter of Patients' Rights in 2002. Twenty years on, that right is expanding to include genomic screening, digital risk assessment tools, and interventions tailored to each individual's biological, environmental, behavioural, and socio-economic profile.

“What clearly emerges is that this transformation can succeed only if citizens and patients are recognised as active participants” added Quaggia. “Without their informed and meaningful engagement, personalised prevention risks remaining an innovative promise that never achieves its full societal impact. That is why events like today matter: they bring together different stakeholders — starting from citizens, patients, and their organisations — to understand together where we are heading, and what we need to get there”.

The event, titled “Empowered Citizens, Personalised Care: A New Era for Prevention in Europe”, built on the results of the EU-funded PROPHET project — A Personalised Prevention Roadmap for the Future Healthcare — coordinated by the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. Its Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), published in 2026, sets out a concrete framework — 56 goals and 66 actions — to implement personalised prevention across Europe, addressing health literacy, data governance, equitable access, public trust, and citizen participation.

MEP Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy), who hosted the event, highlighted the enormous economic cost of preventable disease, equivalent to 69% of total healthcare spending.

The afternoon roundtable brought together the European Patients' Forum, the European Society of Human Genetics, the European Partnership on Personalised Medicine (EP PerMed), and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), alongside a contribution from the European Commission (DG Research and Innovation). Discussions covered genomics and family health history, equity and the risk of a two-speed Europe, patient engagement in research and governance, and the role of EU funding and partnerships in scaling personalised prevention.

Beyond Brussels, the European Patients' Rights Day is celebrated each year in hundreds of cities across Europe through local events, awareness campaigns, and civic initiatives promoted by patient and civil society organisations across the Active Citizenship Network.

The event was kindly hosted by MEP Brando Benifei (S&D, Italy) and endorsed by the MEPs Interest Group “European Patients' Rights & Cross-Border Healthcare”. It was realised in the framework of the EU-funded project PROPHET and made possible also thanks to the unconditional support of MSD, Redcare Pharmacy, and Viatris.

Thank you also to our media partners: Health Europa, TrendSanità – Policy and Procurement in Healthcare, and Pubtexto Publishers, the international online publishing organisation that

publishes the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical and Clinical Studies (ISSN: 2582-0869).

For further information, chick here