Newsletter 2025
A Message from our President: Looking back and moving forward

Dear Colleagues, dear members of ESAIC,
First and foremost, I would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year and all the best in 2025!
January is the time of the year when we take some time to reflect on the past and set our sights on 2025. This past year has been one with remarkable achievements for ESAIC and the anaesthesiology community. Together, we have continued to advance our mission of empowering excellence in perioperative medicine, intensive care, pain medicine, and beyond.
A remarkable Euroanaesthesia 2024
Euroanaesthesia 2024 in Munich was a tremendous success, with over 6,100 attendees from around the globe. Participants engaged in 126 scientific sessions, 19 learning tracks, and 37 workshops and serious games. With a balanced speaker gender ratio (46% female and 54% male), 109 countries represented, and 121 participating societies and industry companies, the event fostered a vibrant exchange of knowledge and ideas.
Key highlights included 950 poster presentations, 31 societies in the National Societies Village. The event also made a significant digital impact, generating over 261,000 impressions across social platforms. The enthusiasm and collaboration demonstrated throughout the event were truly inspiring, setting the stage for even greater innovation in anaesthesia and intensive care.
Growing strength in Membership
Our society’s strength are all of you, the members, and it is encouraging to see a highly positive trend in membership growth over the past year. In 2024, we have welcomed many new members in our community, reflecting the growing interest in ESAIC’s work and our expanding role in the field.
Euroanaesthesia 2025 in Lisbon: Value-Based Healthcare in focus
This year Euroanaesthesia 2025 will be held in the vibrant city of Lisbon. A key focus of the congress will be the leading role of anaesthesiologists in driving Value-Based Healthcare. As leaders in perioperative medicine, anaesthesiologists are central to improving patient outcomes while optimising the use of healthcare resources. This congress will serve as a hub to delve into these contributions, fostering discussions on how our expertise can further advance high-quality, sustainable healthcare.
Looking ahead, preparations for Euroanaesthesia 2025 are already in full swing. We are particularly proud to announce that we have received a record-breaking number of abstracts — 2,075 abstracts were submitted. This overwhelming response underscores the dynamic engagement of our community and promises a congress based on cutting-edge research and discussion.
Advancing Research through EU Funding
Research is the cornerstone of innovation, and we take pride in our ongoing success in securing EU-funded research projects. For many years, ESAIC has been a trusted and reliable consortium partner as well as a leader in EU-funded initiatives, offering valuable expertise. These projects not only deepen our understanding of critical clinical challenges but also strengthen our collaboration with institutions across Europe. ESAIC remains dedicated to supporting research that fosters advancements in patient care and greener healthcare systems.
ESAIC White Paper on Perioperative Care
In line with our mission to shape future health policies, we are preparing a White Paper on Perioperative Care, Intensive Care and Emergency medicine. Developed through expert interviews with members and partners, this initiative identifies key challenges affecting the profession, healthcare quality, and patient outcomes. The paper will provide recommendations in three critical areas: the education, training, and retention of our workforce; the importance of patient safety and digital health services; and the need for sustainable, resilient health systems. This document aims to guide future ESAIC policies and support meaningful improvements in perioperative care across Europe. The second year of my presidency will be dedicated to strengthening the role of our speciality in the European context. As we all realize in our daily practice, there are relevant shortages in anaesthesiologists and this also leads to a significant burden of work for too less colleagues. This clearly needs to be addressed to policy makers and will be done in close cooperation with national societies.
Looking Ahead
As we move forward into 2025, we remain committed to our shared goal of advancing excellence in anaesthesiology and intensive care. With your continued engagement and support, ESAIC will continue to be a driving force in shaping the future of perioperative and critical care across Europe and beyond.
Thank you for your dedication and contributions. Together, we can make a difference on the lives of patients and the broader healthcare community.
Warm regards,
Prof. Wolfgang Buhre
President, ESAIC