With Europe's population ageing rapidly and the demand for healthcare growing, healthcare services need to become more efficient. However, little hard evidence is available on the contribution of eHealth solutions. 
The European Council adopted a common position on the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) at a Competitiveness Council meeting, held on 25 September in Brussels. Agreement on FP7 should now be reached under the co-decision procedure, assuming the European Parliament responds positively in its second reading.