BE READY – BE READY PLUS Conference: a significant milestone in shaping Europe’s future Pandemic Preparedness and Response

09 Apr 2025 in
Press Release
BE READY Team

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BE READY – BE READY PLUS Conference: a significant milestone in shaping Europe’s future Pandemic Preparedness and Response

Brussels, April 8th -9th, 2025

"The Partnership on Pandemic Preparedness is the central piece of European research coordination in emergency preparedness and response. We view it as a valuable contribution to the implementation of the vision outlined in the European Preparedness Union Strategy, helping to strengthen Europe’s collective ability to respond to future health crises and enhance overall preparedness." - Irene Norstedt, Director Health and Society, DG Research and Innovation, European Commission.

To advance Europe’s readiness for future pandemics, the Final Conference of BE READY and the Kick-off of BE READY PLUS convened key stakeholders in Brussels today. Bringing together experts from EU institutions, project partners, research organisations, as well as global health networks, the event marked a significant step in the development of the future European Partnership for Pandemic Preparedness.

Advancing European Pandemic Preparedness: the BE READY and BE READY PLUS projects

As the world continues to prepare for future emerging infectious disease outbreaks and health crises, a proactive and coordinated approach is crucial to ensure preparedness. BE READY, funded by Horizon Europe, is short for Building a European strategic Research and Innovation Area in Direct Synergy with EU and International Initiatives for Pandemic Preparedness. As the name suggests, the project has been fundamental in laying the foundation for the future Partnership, enabling research collaboration across Member States and associated countries, further improving pandemic preparedness and response capacities in the EU. After three years of fruitful collaboration and innovation, the project is reaching its final stage — paving the way for the subsequent activities that will be developed under BE READY PLUS. The final outcomes will be developed under the one-year BE READY PLUS project, which aims to strengthen existing efforts developed in BE READY and to continue developing synergies with research institutions, policymakers, and funding organisations in terms of the future priorities.

Led by ANRS Emerging infectious diseases (ANRS MIE / Inserm) with the coordination support of Inserm Transfert (IT), the BE READY and BE READY PLUS consortia bring together 31 leading partner institutions from 21 countries, uniting top researchers, public health agencies, and multidisciplinary experts to strengthen Europe's pandemic preparedness.

Key discussion highlights

The conference featured exchanges on the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA), which is expected to fine-tune the priorities for pandemic preparedness research. Representatives from key funding organisations explored ways to align research priorities and funding strategies.

The event also provided an opportunity to high-level exchanges with European institutions involved in pandemic preparedness: the European Commission, Directorate general for Research and Innovation, SANTE, the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC), the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and sister initiatives in order to foster synergies with international partners through discussions on project developments, achievements and future plans.

Further discussions highlighted, among the priorities:

- the push of ongoing efforts to update and further develop BE READY results and living documents such as the SRIA, which will pave the way for the future Partnership;

- the facilitation of multicounty clinical trials to enable stable collaboration in interpandemic phases and swift operationalisation during crisis times;

- the integration of Social Sciences, Humanities and Public Health research as a core cornerstone within the partnership.

With over 140 participants from 30 different countries attending the event in-person and online, the high level of engagement underlines a solid, shared commitment to ensure Europe remains well-prepared for future health crises.

According to Hervé Raoul, Deputy Director of the ANRS MIE, and Coordinator of BE READY: “Today’s meeting marks an important step in preparing for the implementation of the European Partnership for Pandemic Preparedness, BE READY NOW. It offered an opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue with key European institutions and stakeholders involved in preparedness and response to future health emergencies.The discussions helped to identify the articulation to build between the Partnership, EU institutions, sister initiatives, private sector and key stakeholders.The meeting was also the opportunity to inform EU Member States and associated countries about the Partnership’s objectives and ongoing work, including the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. This was a key step in fostering alignment, encouraging broader engagement moving forward and shaping a more coordinated and effective European preparedness framework. Together, let's build a stronger and more resilient Europe”!

Looking ahead: the role of BE READY PLUS

Following the successful efforts of BE READY, the newly launched BE READY PLUS will continue to grow to expand research collaborations and improve knowledge exchange across Europe regarding pandemic preparedness coordination. The one-year initiative will serve as a key component of the EU’s pandemic preparedness strategy, ensuring that science, policy, and funding mechanisms work hand in hand to enhance resilience. At the core of the vision of the future European Partnership for Pandemic Preparedness will be an inclusive research and innovation ecosystem that is best prepared to address future health threats and crises, can rapidly respond to infectious disease threats and is fully integrated into the wider European institutional Health Security Framework. With this ambitious agenda in mind, 2025 marks an exciting but challenging chapter to align and coordinate priorities and deliver actionable results for the Partnership.

 

Contact Information:  

For up-to date information, follow us on LinkedIn!

For more details about the projects BE READY and BE READY PLUS, click on www.beready4pandemics.eu!    

For individual requests, please reach out to info@beready4pandemics.eu! 

Press contacts: 

ANRS MIE: presse@anrs.fr

Project coordination:

ANRS MIE: herve.raoul@anrs.fr; laurent.jaboeuf@anrs.fr; quentin.gaday@anrs.fr

www.anrs.fr

Partners of BE READY and BE READY PLUS

Austria:                              

Belgium:                             

Denmark:                          

Finland:                              

France:                              

Germany:                         

Greece:                            

Hungary:                           

Italy:                                     

Ireland:

Lithuania:

Luxembourg:                 

Netherlands:                 

Norway:

Poland:                             

Portugal:                         

Spain:

Sweden:                           

Switzerland:

Türkiye:

United Kingdom:

 

DG RTD:

DG SANTE:                      

HaDEA:                          

HERA:                               

 

Disclaimer 

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HADEA) under the powers delegated by the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.