By Paola Testori, Director-General for Health and Consumers of the European Commission

It is with great pleasure I am able to celebrate with you the 100th edition of this newsletter which started 5 years ago. Since then it has grown to have almost 14 000 subscribers from all over Europe, in 22 languages. It is also a great opportunity to introduce with this issue the new format and layout, which I hope will enhance your reading pleasure.

As the number of Europeans aged 65 and over will double in the next 50 years, it is important that the European Commission continues to address the issue of active and healthy ageing. Getting old now is no longer what it used to be years ago. Along with rising life expectancy, more and more older citizens feel they still have a lot to give and to experience even after they have reached an advanced age, and by remaining active, older citizens can also contribute to the sustainable growth of our society.

However, while many people live active and healthy lives well into their retirement, others are unable to do so. Half of Europe’s 65 to 74 year-olds have self-reported a health problem. The situation impacts the wellbeing of society and affects public policy and the sustainability of the healthcare system.

To address this, we have created 'The European Innovation Partnership on Healthy and Active Ageing' , which brings together all stakeholders, both public (local authorities etc.) and private (hospitals, businesses etc.) all around Europe. The idea is to work together so that new ideas, innovative technologies and best practices are quickly adopted for the benefit of the older generations. One of the main objectives of this initiative is to add two healthy life years to the average life span of European citizens by 2020.

The Partnership was launched last year, and since then, results have been achieved and benefits of innovation been brought to Europe's citizens, as presented at the Conference organised on 6 November in Brussels. Now is the time to make long-lasting commitments to create an age-friendly European Union that empowers people to age in good health and to actively contribute to society in a way that is fair and sustainable for all generations.

We hope that our newsletter will continue to serve you with news and information about healthy and active ageing as well as other public health issues in Europe for many more years to come.