Check against delivery

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to Norway. And welcome to this important meeting of international regulators.

Thank you to the Norwegian Board of Health Supervision and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement for hosting the conference.

This is the first time the International Regulator Conference is held in Norway – and I am very happy to see so many of you here today.

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I want to begin by emphasising how important your role as regulators and authorities are for safe and well-functioning healthcare systems across Europe. Thank you for the important work you do, every day.

Across Europe, and in Norway, we have worked methodically with patient safety for many years.

It has been essential to create a system of openness about adverse events and improvements, instead of what you could call a “blame culture” of highlighting individual errors.

Alongside this, the very role of health supervisors has shifted. Today, the system-perspective is central – and the emphasis is on learning and improvement in the healthcare service.

This is the foundation of Norway’s new reporting system for serious adverse events, which enters into force in July.

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As well as the system perspective, however, regulators also have extensive powers to revoke authorisations from individual healthcare professionals. Those powers exist for the same, important reason: patient safety. 

As many of you will know: Last year, journalists across Europe began reporting on doctors who had lost their licence in one country, moved to a new country, and begun working again.

The Bad Practice Project (vg.no), initiated by Norwegian newspaper VG – by Eiliv, who is here today – found more than 100 cases of doctors across Europe practicing medicine, despite being banned or suspended in other European countries.

The Bad Practice Project has found significant variations in how European countries use the alert mechanism in the Internal Market Information System, IMI.

Similar findings were made in 2024 by the European Court of Auditors.

Let me make one thing clear: These are extremely serious findings. They threaten patient safety and undermine trust in healthcare across our continent.

This is not a problem for individual countries. This is a European problem. And it will require a European solution.

I am aware that the European Commission is working to strengthen IMI mechanisms. That is both important and necessary.

I have made this point on repeated occasions, to my European colleagues, to the EU health commissioner, to the EU Parliament, and in media. Most recently, two weeks ago, when I was in Cyprus for informal meetings with European health ministers. 

I hope this has helped increase awareness of the need to coordinate better, and cooperate more, to improve the system across Europe.  

Commissioner Varhelyi made clear, in our recent meeting, the need to improve the guidelines, to build trust in health personnel and well-functioning health systems.

Norway will play its part.

We want to help secure robust systems, better information sharing, and safer healthcare, across borders.

This is not about weakening national systems. It is about strengthening them – together.

Every country in Europe has its own regulatory framework for authorisation and oversight.

And alerts in IMI do not automatically mean healthcare professionals should lose their licence. That is important to emphasise.

But: Each and every country must have sufficient resources – and robust procedures – in place to assess and respond to alerts in IMI. 

Because: National differences have European consequences. And we must face those consequences together, not separately. 

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Ladies and gentlemen,

We should not forget that an open European labour market for healthcare professionals is good for everyone.

It improves the overall efficiency and resilience of healthcare systems in all our countries.

It protects us against regional staff shortages and makes it possible for healthcare professionals to travel freely for work.

However. An open labour market must – must – go hand in hand with safe healthcare for patients. 

When people in any European country go to see a doctor, or end up in hospital, they have to trust that the healthcare professionals that treat them are properly qualified.

In the end, this not merely a question of systems and procedures. It is a question of trust.

Trust in healthcare.

Trust in regulators.

Trust between people.

We have that trust today. And we rely on that trust – not just in our healthcare systems, but across society. 

Now, we need to keep that trust.

To do so, we must do two things:

First, we must take seriously the findings, which are being presented by media and the court of auditors. We have to accept that certain parts of the system are not working as intended.

And, second, we must act: We have to make sure regulators fulfil their responsibility – not only nationally, but as part of a European system. If the system needs changing, we must be the ones changing it.

With those two things in mind, I am truly pleased that we stand here today – at a conference bringing together all of you: regulators, supervisory authorities, experts and professionals from across Europe.

Together, you play a critical role in protecting patients. Thank you for your attention. I wish you a positive and productive conference!