DG SANCO, the Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs of the European Commission, organised a conference on European Reference Networks (ERNs) that was held in Brussels on June 23, 2014. It was an occasion to bring together highly specialized healthcare providers, experts, national authorities, decision-makers, and independent bodies with experience in the assessment and evaluation of healthcare providers.

During the conference, the state of play, including both successes and challenges, of highly specialized networks in the EU was discussed with the aim of proposing new ideas for the forthcoming 2015 calls.

Professor Ceci, the President of Fondazione Gianni Benzi, took part in the meeting, given her previous experience in the organization and management of European research networks in both the fields of pediatrics and rare diseases.

For more information about the meeting and to download the agenda visit http://ec.europa.eu/health/ern/events/ev_20140623_en.htm#a