Patient members of the European Lung Health Group (ELHG) came together in Brussels to discuss the next steps towards a European Lung Health Plan.
The in-person meeting took place alongside the European PF Patient Summit 2026, organised by the European Pulmonary Fibrosis Federation (EU-PFF), a member of ELHG. Partners discussed how to build on the World Health Assembly resolution on lung health and keep pushing for stronger European action.
The direction is clear: lung health needs a coordinated approach that brings prevention, diagnosis, care, research and investment into one plan.
Shared priorities for lung health policy
The meeting focused on how the lung health community can continue building momentum through the #KeepBreathing campaign and its shared policy priorities. A focus will have to be how to expand the reach of the campaign beyond the respiratory and health policy community.
Investment
Respiratory health needs a targeted EU budget, stronger research, better evidence and innovation shaped around patient needs.
Prevention
Stronger action is needed on air pollution, tobacco and nicotine control, and the environmental and social factors that shape lung health.
Earlier diagnosis
Patients need more empowerment, stronger primary care screening and regular use of spirometry across healthcare pathways.
Better care and treatment access
Improved patient pathways, fairer access to treatments and stronger integrated specialist care are essential to better outcomes.
Shared best practice
Learning from what works in different countries can support stronger national lung health plans and help turn European ambition into practical change.
Across diseases, sectors and countries, ELHG members are building a stronger shared voice for lung health in Europe. Together, they are moving closer to a European Lung Health Plan that helps all people in Europe #KeepBreathing.
ELHG members bring lung health priorities to the EU-PFF Summit panel
Lung health policy was also discussed during the EU-PFF Summit panel “Policy in Practice: From Europe to National Lung & Rare Disease Policies”.
ELHG members Gergely Meszaros from the European Pulmonary Fibrosis Federation (EU-PFF) and Frazer Goodwin from the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’ Associations (EFA) spoke on the panel, which explored how European priorities can be translated into stronger national policies for people living with pulmonary fibrosis and other rare respiratory diseases.
The discussion looked at national plans taking shape across Europe, including examples from Belgium, Hungary and Ireland. Speakers reflected on what these plans can mean in practice: helping patients reach the right expertise sooner, improving care pathways and responding to unmet needs that go beyond treatment alone.
The needs are clear: patients require earlier and more accurate diagnosis, clearer routes to expert centres, multidisciplinary care, stronger research and clinical trials, better access to innovation and closer cooperation between countries, including through European Reference Networks.
These priorities are closely aligned with the #KeepBreathing campaign: prevention, earlier diagnosis, better care and stronger investment in lung health.
As Frazer Goodwin highlighted during the discussion: “European action can bring countries together, support shared learning and build the political momentum needed to move faster for patients.”
This is why both an EU Action Plan on Rare Diseases and a European Lung Health Plan are needed. Together, they can help make lung health policy more coordinated, support stronger national plans and make the patient journey less dependent on where someone lives or how quickly they find the right expertise.
The European Lung Health Group will continue working with partners to turn patient priorities into stronger lung health policy in Europe for all to #KeepBreathing.
Thank you EU-PFF for bringing this important discussion together and keeping patients at the centre of the Summit. And to the great speakers on the panel: Benjamin Bondue, Wim Wuyts, Stefan Joris, Liam Galvin and Gergely Meszaros.