On 2 December 2025, Alzheimer Europe held a lunch debate in the European Parliament in Brussels (Belgium), entitled “The future of dementia research in Europe”, attended by national member organisations, civil society representatives, industry partners and policy makers. The event was attended by almost 90 people, including six Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The meeting was hosted by two Co-Chairs of the European Alzheimer’s Alliance (EAA), Tilly Metz MEP (Luxembourg) and Sirpa Pietikäinen (Finland). EAA Co-Chair Nina Carberry MEP (Ireland) was also in attendance, as were Tomislav Sokol MEP (Croatia), Ondřej Dostál MEP (Czechia) and Vigenin Kristian MEP (Bulgaria). In the opening presentation, Petra Ritter, Professor and Director of the Brain Simulation Section at the Berlin Institute of Health, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, presented on the application of artificial intelligence and big data in driving innovation for dementia. As part of this, she provided an overview of how EU-funded research projects such as VirtualBrainCloud, eBRAIN-Health and TEF-Health were making use of emerging technologies.
In the presentations which followed, representatives from the European Commission spoke on the place of dementia research within their respective directorates. The first of these interventions came from Stefan Schreck, Adviser for Stakeholder Relations at DG Health and Food Safety, who spoke on the place of dementia within the EU4Health programme, the Joint Action on Dementia (JADE), as well as the Commission’s broader focus on non-communicable diseases. In the following presentation, Kasia Jurczak, Head of Unit “Combatting Diseases” at DG Research and Innovation, spoke of the place of dementia research in the Horizon Europe programme, highlighting the funding received by projects focused on dementia, the strength of collaborations such as the Innovative Health Initiative (IHI), and the forthcoming Brain Health Partnership.
In the final presentation, Saila Rinne, Head of Unit “eHealth, Well-being & Ageing” at DG CNECT, spoke on the subject of dementia innovation in the Digital Europe programme. This included a focus on areas such as innovations through artificial intelligence, use of health and genomic data, as well as the need to boost digital and AI literacy amongst the workforce. During the open discussion session, MEPs reflected on their priorities around the future of dementia research at an EU level. Additionally, attendees heard from Patrik Jonsson, Executive Vice President and President, Lilly International, Eli Lilly and Company, as well as from Rosella di Bidino, who shared insights into the AI-MIND project. Alzheimer Europe thanks all the hosts, speakers, delegates and its Gold and Silver sponsors for making this event possible. The next European Parliament Lunch Debate will take place on 17 March 2026.