Europe’s healthcare workforce is essential to the resilience and sustainability of its health systems. In March 2025, CPME, EFN and PGEU called for the recommendations on Recruitment, Retention and Resilience (the 3Rs) to be fully reflected in the European Parliament’s EMPL-SANT Joint Own-Initiative Report on the EU Healthcare Workforce. Following the Parliament’s adoption of the final report, CPME, EFN, PGEU and CED welcome its recognition of these priorities as an important first step towards addressing healthcare workforce shortages.

The report reflects key recommendations across all three areas. On Recruitment, it underlines the importance of maintaining high standards of education and training, supporting mentorship and developing sustainable domestic health workforces rather than relying on international recruitment. On Retention, it calls for better and safer working conditions, fair remuneration, stronger social dialogue, safe staffing levels and measures to address violence against healthcare professionals. On Resilience, it calls for sufficient and sustainable national and EU funding to support the recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals.

CPME, EFN, PGEU and CED, together representing over 5.5 million doctors, nurses, community pharmacists and dentists across Europe, now call for the report’s recommendations to be translated into concrete policy and legislative action. The organisations stress that the INI Report should mark the beginning of implementation at EU level, with a coordinated strategy to strengthen recruitment, retention and resilience and support sustainable healthcare systems for patients and citizens.