Previous Events

The European social model is struggling to survive in the age of globalisation. Healthcare systems that siphon huge sums of money from the taxpayer are paying few dividends; pension systems that rely heavily on state subsidisation cannot cope with the ageing population, and government taxation to pay for the vast array of social services is failing to deliver. These are the views of Johnny Munkhammar.

Mark Leonard, whose recent book ‘Why Europe will run the 21st Century’ stands in stark contrast to Munkhammar’s vision. Leonard views Europe as a ‘revolutionary model for the future’ and states unambiguously that those who believe Europe to be weak and ineffectual are wrong.

The two battled it out at this event at the Hotel Amigo.

This book investigates why decentralised decision-making by large groups is very often superior to the decisions and opinions of ‘experts’ in government, companies or financial markets. The discussion provides an opportunity to discuss and apply these insights in a specifically British context and what this might mean for democratic institutions and the UK public sector.

"Does the West Know Best?" examines whether the EU-15 can learn anything from the more radical approaches to social and economic reform of the 10 new EU new member states, such as flat taxation, the privatisation of social security and moves towards more market-oriented health systems.

Governments all over the Western world are struggling to curb or control healthcare spending. More often than not, reform tends to concentrate on macroeconomic levers to reduce expenditure and occasionally takes forms which amount to downright rationing of health services.

Experience shows that opening the health market to choice will increase spending. The political challenge is how to take advantage of this growth potential.

Laurent Alexandre MD is a French health economist with a unique inside experience of the healthcare system, both as a surgeon and senior civil servant. He is the founding president and CEO of Medcost, a leading consultancy specializing in online management of health services.

Ukraine has become a new battleground between east and west - perhaps the first big tussle of a new cold war. Is this just powerpolitics, cynically dressed up in the language of democracy and freedom? Or is the real story Russian imperialism reborn, with every reason to stop the Kremlin meddling in the affairs of its neighbours? Given the EU's unwillingness to countenance Ukrainian membership, is outside encouragement for pro-western politicians hypocritical?

Science is driven by curiosity. Would any attempt to put that under greater public scrutiny deaden scientific inquiry? Or must scientists now come to terms with the fears and priorities of society at large? And is public accountability a meaningful concept in science? Scientists may not know what they are going to discover when they start experimenting or to what use it may ultimately be put. Are the public qualified to determine the priorities of scientific research? Is that untrammelled freedom for science out of date and dangerous?

Reference pricing is a system of fixed reimbursements for pharmaceuticals in which governments price a drug with reference to the cheapest drug in the same category. It promises tremendous savings without affecting the quality of healthcare. The reality, however, may be quite different. Critics argue that reference pricing treats patients as homogenous beings, that it leads to no real saving, and that it discourages investment in new therapies.

With the Belgian government debating whether to adopt the Kiwi version of reference pricing, John Graham, former director of Health and Pharmaceutical Policy at the Canadian think tank, the Fraser Institute, and author of The Fantasy of Reference Pricing, and Yolande Avontroodt, a prominent Belgian MP and member of the Committee on Public Health, addressed the key issues of reference pricing – what it is, what it will mean for Belgians and, indeed, for all countries which choose to adopt reference pricing.

Public welfare often clashes with private reference - in policies on drugs, obesity and even parenting. Yet bad choices - in diet and lifestyle - impose costs and inconvenience on our fellow citizens. So, has the nanny state already gone too far or are we still scandalously neglectful of the common good?

The health consumer is already knocking on Europe’s door but how can European consumers move from a position of weakness to a position of strength? What are the lessons from other nations where consumers have been empowered? Johan Hjertqvist is a policy innovator with direct practical experience of shaping a consumer-focused healthcare reform in Sweden known as The Stockholm Revolution. He will talk about what is needed to make European healthcare truly consumer focused and will explain the thinking behind the creation of the Health Consumer Index, a practical tool for evaluating how consumers are met by their health systems and where progress still needs to be made.

Every industrialised country is wrestling with the challenges that technology, ageing and endless cost increases pose for their national health systems, and Canada is no exception. One of Canada’s most prominent health care reformers talks about these questions. How does Canada balance efficiency in healthcare with social solidarity? Are Canadians more satisfied with their healthcare arrangements than Europeans? What are the lessons for Belgium and for Europe as a whole? Is the traditional welfare state model sustainable in the 21st century?