Key messages

•EUREGIO III facilitates the sharing of practical "how to" knowledge that can help managing authorities and end-users use Structural Funds effectively and sustainably by informing direct health spending and exploring how to maximise wider health gains. The focus is mainstream SF programmes while taking into consideration the constantly changing environments (demography, health status, economies, models of care, financing, technologies) that the health care systems of EU member states are operating within.

EUREGIO III supports the value of integrating health into sustainable regional development frameworks in which wider socioeconomic and environmental consequences of health sector investments should be taken into account.

EUREGIO III recognises the need to move beyond a narrow focus on cost efficiency in using Structural Founds for health. Spending on building hospitals and modernising health services should deliver added value by also contributing to economic regeneration and related tackling of health inequalities, increasing economic competitiveness of local small and medium size enterprises, and tackling social exclusion by giving better employment opportunities.

EUREGIO III recognises that the shape of future capital investment in healthcare facilities is changing significantly and is considerably amplified in its nature and speed by the current economic downturn.

EUREGIO III recognises that non-infrastructure investments are growing using both ERDF and ESF. This means we need to also pay attention to analysing some aspects of indirect and non-direct health investments in order to extend the good-practice database of SF health-related projects.

EUREGIO III understands that settings dedicated to health have acquired many meanings, they are places of work and economic production, and also places offering settings for education and social integration, so they are organic parts of the community.

EUREGIO III aims at getting the balance right between learning from the past and anticipating the future in the programme of work we are developing to support the innovative approach of using Structural Funds for health.