The need to increase support for healthy ageing and longevity research in the EU

Europe is facing rapidly accelerating population ageing. The growing prevalence of age-related multimorbidity already strains national healthcare systems and threatens long-term economic and social sustainability. Yet research and innovation specifically targeting the biological mechanisms of ageing — and the translation of that science into preventive and therapeutic practice — remain fragmented, underfunded and poorly coordinated across the Union.

This open-access paper, led by Ilia Stambler and a coalition of European researchers, policy actors and civil-society representatives, argues that the European Union should establish a dedicated Coordination and Support Programme on Healthy Ageing and Longevity. The proposal builds on existing EU instruments (Horizon Europe, EU4Health, the Joint Programming Initiative "More Years, Better Lives") but goes further: it calls for a structured, long-term mechanism that would integrate research, innovation, regulation, clinical evaluation, workforce capacity-building and citizen engagement into a coherent EU-wide longevity strategy.

What the programme would do

• Coordinate national initiatives and EU funding lines on the biology of ageing, geroprotectors and preventive longevity medicine.
• Support translational pipelines — from mechanistic discovery to clinical trials with ageing-relevant endpoints.
• Provide scientific advice to EU institutions and Member States on regulatory and reimbursement pathways for emerging longevity interventions.
• Strengthen the European workforce in geroscience, prevention and longevity medicine through training and mobility schemes.
• Engage citizens, patient organisations and civil society in shaping a shared European agenda for healthy ageing.