BELGIAN BRAIN COUNCIL
Budget
€81,055
EP Access
1
accredited persons
Staff
3
1 FTE
EU Grants
None
Mission & Goals
The Belgian Brain Council (BBC) is a coordinating council formed by Belgian Universities, organisations in neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, basic brain research (neuroscience), patients organisations, pharmaceutical industries and medical devices companies. It therefore represents a vast network of patients, doctors and scientists. These stakeholders make it eminently suited to work in close partnership with the Belgian Federal government, the members of the Parliament and the Belgian MEPs. The BBC was founded in 2005 and has office in Brussels. BBC recently created European Brain Data Hub (EBDH) an AISBL gathering the Belgian, French and German Brain Councils.
EU Legislative Interests
EU policies and legislative initiatives targeted: EU Data Governance Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/868) European Health Data Space (EHDS) proposal (COM/2022/197 final) EU Mental Health Strategy EU Health Union initiatives (DG SANTE) European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda – Health Cluster
Communication Activities
The Belgian Brain Council (BBC) is actively engaged in European policy discussions related to brain health, health data governance, and research and innovation. On 14 May 2024, the BBC founded the **European Brain Data Hub (EBDH AISBL)**, an international non-profit association dedicated to health data altruism in the field of brain and mental health. The EBDH has been officially **recognised by the European Commission as a data altruism organisation under the EU Data Governance Act**. In this context, the BBC and the EBDH are organising a **European conference on 8 October entitled “Health Data Altruism: A New European Alliance”**, aimed at fostering dialogue between patient organisations, researchers, policymakers and industry stakeholders. Members of the European Parliament are invited to contribute to the discussion on the societal value and governance of altruistic health data sharing. In addition, on 14–15 May 2024, the BBC organised a European symposium entitled **“Are Data the Future for Better Brain and Mental Health?”**, with the participation of representatives from **DG CONNECT and DG SANTE**, focusing on the role of data-driven approaches in brain and mental health policy and research.
Interests Represented
Does not represent commercial interests
Member Of
European Brain Council (www.braincouncil.eu), Conseil Français du Cerveau (conseilfrancaisducerveau.org), Spanish Brain Council (www.consejocerebro.es), Norwegian Brain Council (www.hjerneradet.no), Serbian Brain Council (abc.ac.rs/), Croatian Brain Council (him.hr), European Federation of Neurological Association, Pain Alliance Europe, German Brain Council (https://braincouncil.de), European Brain Data Hub (ebdh.org)
Organisation Members
Membership and affiliations Networks and associations: European Brain Council (www.braincouncil.eu); French Brain Council (www.conseilfrancaisducerveau.org); Spanish Brain Council (www.consejocerebro.es); Norwegian Brain Council (www.hjerneradet.no); Serbian Brain Council (www.abc.ac.rs); Croatian Brain Council (www.him.hr); European Federation of Neurological Associations (EFNA); Pain Alliance Europe; German Brain Council (www.braincouncil.de); European Brain Data Hub (www.ebdh.org) Member organisations: 28 Patient Associations and 26 Scientific Societies (full list available on request). Industry and medical device partners: AbbVie, Allergan, Almirall, Pfizer, Lucimed, Eisai, Novartis, UCB, Servier, Lundbeck, Sanofi, Teva, Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, Bayer, Janssen Benelux, LivaNova, Medtronic, MSD Belgium, Bristol Myers Squibb, Takeda.
Additional Information
The financial statements for the 2024 fiscal year were audited by a certified accountant (MATS Company) and approved by the General Assembly of the Belgian Brain Council in May 2025. I hereby declare that no individual contribution exceeding EUR 10,000 and representing more than 10% of the total annual budget was received during the 2024 financial year.
Commissioner Meetings
No recorded meetings with EU commissioners.