An evolving European community

SIMONE VERONESE

Palliative care physician, Head of Research at Fondazione FARO (Turin), and Vice President of EAPC.




A reflection from the perspective of the Board of Directors

When speaking about the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), there is always a risk of describing it simply as a “European scientific society.” A correct definition, yet profoundly insufficient.

EAPC is, first and foremost, a community. A community of practice, of thought, and – more and more – of shared responsibility. Since 1988, the year of its founding in Milan by its first President Vittorio Ventafridda and 42 founding members from around the world, EAPC has been an umbrella community that brings together the perspectives of different national palliative care associations and that, over the years, has contributed not only to the development of palliative care in Europe, but also to shaping its identity. Among the Italian members, two Collective Members are represented: SICP and Federazione Cure Palliative.




From my position as Vice President, what stands out most is not so much the institutional dimension of the association, but rather its ability to connect experiences, healthcare systems, and professional cultures that are profoundly different, while maintaining a common direction.

A vision that speaks of rights and shared responsibility

The vision of EAPC is simple to articulate, yet extremely demanding to achieve: a world without avoidable suffering, where people with life-limiting illnesses and their families can access high-quality palliative care in a timely and equitable way, fully integrated into healthcare systems.

This is not merely an organizational goal. It is an ethical and political stance. It means recognizing palliative care as an integral part of healthcare systems and, above all, as a fundamental human right.

Alongside this vision, EAPC clearly articulates its core values, which – at least for those who experience the association from within – serve as a practical guide to everyday decision-making: striving for excellence in palliative care, valuing interdisciplinary work, respecting diversity and promoting inclusion, and a strong commitment to collaboration.

These are not abstract principles. They are reflected in Board discussions, in working groups, in guidelines and white papers, and in the documents produced, and perhaps most importantly, in the way consensus is built within such a diverse community.

EAPC’s strategic objectives reflect this same tension between vision and action. They can be summarized along several key directions:

■ strengthening EAPC as a multiprofessional, sustainable, and representative organization

■ developing education and competencies, increasing awareness and dissemination of palliative care

■ supporting and advancing research, promoting evidence-based practice

■ advocating for the integration of palliative care into healthcare systems

■ fostering leadership and collaboration at European and international levels

■ contributing to the reduction of inequalities, including through global partnerships.

In this sense, EAPC’s mission moves along a delicate balance: on one hand supporting scientific and clinical development, and on the other actively contributing to system-level change.

A governance that reflects complexity

The EAPC Board of Directors is perhaps one of the most visible expressions of this balance between unity and diversity.

Today, the Board is led by President Professor Jeroen Hasselaar, a leading figure in the European landscape of palliative care research and development.

The Board is composed of Directors from various European countries – including the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and others – reflecting the truly international nature of the association.

Above all, it is a deeply multiprofessional Board: palliative care physicians, nurses, psychologists, researchers, and experts in public health and policy. This composition is not merely symbolic – it is what enables EAPC to address the complexity of contemporary palliative care.

Sitting around that table means engaging with different healthcare systems, organizational models, and often distant cultural perspectives. The decisions that emerge are therefore the result of synthesis and mediation, rather than a single, unified vision.

The Office: an invisible yet essential dimension

There is also a part of EAPC that rarely enters the narrative, yet without which nothing would function: the Office.

The organization is led by CEO Joanne Brennan, whose role is central in ensuring continuity, development, and coherence across the association’s activities.

In the daily work of the Board, it becomes clear how crucial the operational structure is. The team does not simply manage the association – it makes its concrete existence possible, supporting groups, initiatives, and activities across Europe.

In a distributed and complex organization such as EAPC, this function is far from secondary: it is one of the pillars on which the entire system rests.

EAPC groups: where the community produces knowledge and fosters growth

If there is a place where EAPC truly takes shape, it is within its groups: Reference Groups and Task Forces.

This is where the community becomes active, discusses, and produces. This is where many of the documents that later become international references are born.

What stands out when participating in these groups is the quality of the dialogue: multidisciplinary, often intergenerational, and increasingly attentive to diverse perspectives.

The groups are not only spaces for scientific production, but also environments for professional growth and for building a shared culture of palliative care.

And it is precisely here that I believe it is important to be explicit: participation in EAPC groups is not only possible – it is strongly encouraged.

By its very nature, EAPC is an open organization. The quality of its work depends on its ability to involve new professionals, new competencies, and new perspectives.

For this reason, the invitation to colleagues from the Italian Society of Palliative Care (SICP) is twofold:

■ to actively participate in existing groups

■ to contribute to proposing new areas of work where needs or priorities are not yet adequately represented.

It is within this dynamic – between openness and scientific responsibility – that EAPC continues to evolve as a community.

White papers: building a common language

One of the most significant contributions of EAPC over the past decades has been the production of white papers and consensus documents.

These texts have played a fundamental role: not only in synthesizing evidence, but in building a common language. In a field such as palliative care – marked by cultural, ethical, and organizational differences – this is far from a trivial achievement.

Among the most relevant and widely cited documents are:

■ the standards and norms for palliative care in Europe, which have provided a reference framework for service development

■ the EAPC framework on palliative sedation, which has helped define shared clinical and ethical practices

■ the white paper on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide, which has contributed to the international debate

■ the work on outcome measurement, fundamental for research and evaluation

■ the international consensus on advance care planning, now central to healthcare systems

■ the document on palliative care in dementia, which has fostered integration with geriatrics

■ the work on people with intellectual disabilities, contributing to greater inclusivity.

Alongside these, there has been a significant expansion in recent years toward specialized fields.

A particularly meaningful milestone for me has been the 2016 EAPC–EAN consensus, published in the European Journal of Neurology, which marked a key step in the development of palliative care in neurology and helped define a field that is now rapidly growing.

More recently, the work coordinated by Piret Paal on spiritual care in neurological conditions has further broadened this perspective, integrating clinical and existential dimensions and reflecting the maturation of the European debate in this area.

This scientific production is not only of academic value – it represents a concrete tool for guiding clinical practice and informing policy decisions.

Looking ahead

Looking at EAPC today, what emerges is an organization in evolution – more aware of its role, but also of the challenges that remain.

Inequalities in access to palliative care across Europe are still profound. This implies an increasing responsibility: not only to produce knowledge, but to actively contribute to transforming healthcare systems.

In this journey, the strength of EAPC will continue to lie in its nature as a community: open, critical, and capable of questioning itself.

Final note

In this contribution, I aimed to offer an “internal” perspective on EAPC, focusing on its vision, structure, and scientific production.

The role of the association in European projects will be the subject of a future contribution.

The website: EAPC, eapcnet.eu

Conflicts of interests: the author declares the absence of conflict of interests.

For the bibliography, please consult the Italian version of the article.