Ms. Ekaterina Zaharieva, EU Commissioner, Addressed the Participants of the HEALTHXCHANGE Summit 2026

In her official video address to the HEALTHXCHANGE Summit 2026, Ekaterina Zaharieva, European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation, delivered a strong and forward-looking message on the future of Europe’s water resources, prevention, and health tourism.

She emphasised that water is one of Europe’s most valuable natural assets, noting that global demand is expected to exceed available resources by 40% by 2030. To respond to this challenge, the European Commission has adopted the EU Water Resilience Strategy, aimed at strengthening water management, boosting innovation, and reinforcing Europe’s global leadership in water technologies — a sector already generating €107 billion and supporting 1.7 million jobs.

Commissioner Zaharieva underlined the strategic role of natural healing resources and European spa resorts, describing them not merely as places for relaxation, but as essential contributors to:

• health prevention and quality of life,
• healthy and dignified ageing,
• regional development,
• sustainable innovation.

She highlighted that up to 80% of major chronic diseases can be prevented, reinforcing the urgent need to shift the focus from treatment to prevention. This is why the European Commission has placed life sciences at the centre of its agenda and adopted the Strategy for European Life Sciences, aiming to position Europe as a global leader in innovation by 2030.

Her message to the Summit participants was clear: