In this interactive workshop, top-level practitioners from EU member states as well as the European Commission discussed key challenges to public health: from coping with the demands of an ageing population and squeezed budgets in the aftermath of the global recession to the onset of new technologies which empower patients and allow for digital medical records. The debate was kicked off by Robert Madelin, director-general of the European Commission’s DG Health and Consumer Affairs, who delivered a fascinating overview of key issues on the EU agenda. Other discussants included Juan José Güemes, chief executive of Madrid health service, Javier Carnicero Giménez de Azcárate, director of the Observatorio del Sistema Nacional de Salud in Spain, Laurent Debenedetti, director of the GIP-DMP in France, as well as Mourad Ameziane, managing director of public health Europe, at Accenture.