In 12 of the 27 EU member states, four out of ten doctors are already older than 55.

Omissions

• The exact figure '12 member states' with '40% or more' does not appear verbatim in any of the sources found; the closest sources give '40 per cent or more in half of the member states' (Euronews citing OECD 'Health at a Glance: Europe 2024', 2022 data) and 'above 38.0% in 10 EU countries' (Eurostat, 2024 data).
• The most recent official data before the session (Eurostat, reference year 2024, extracted July 2026) indicates 10 EU countries above 38.0%, i.e. slightly fewer countries than the claim's 12, and the trend is described as 'slightly lower than in 2023'.
• The OECD 'Health at a Glance 2025' (reference year 2023) reports that only nine OECD countries (a wider grouping than the EU) reached 40% or more, indicating that the number of countries at the 40% threshold may be lower than the claim suggests.
• The underlying source of the '12' figure appears to be 2022 data, i.e. several years older than the most recent Eurostat data available at the time of the speech.

Sources

• PrimaryEurostat — Healthcare personnel statistics - physicians (Statistics Explained)In 2024, the share of physicians aged 55 years and over was above 38.0% in 10 EU countries (see Figure 2). However, this is slightly lower than in 2023, when this share was 39.0%. / In 2024, more than half of all physicians in Bulgaria were aged 55 years or over.
• PrimaryOECD — Health at a Glance: Europe 2024Over one-third of doctors and a quarter of nurses in the EU are aged over 55 and expected to retire in the coming years.
• PrimaryOECD — Health at a Glance 2025, Doctors (by age, gender and category)In 2023, nearly one-third (32%) of doctors across OECD countries were aged over 55. In nine OECD countries, this proportion reached 40% or more (Figure 8.6). Bulgaria, an OECD accession country, is facing the most pressing concerns, with more than half of physicians aged over 55. Latvia, Estonia, Italy and Hungary are the OECD countries with the highest proportion of doctors aged over 55, with at least 44% of doctors in this age group.
• SecondaryEuronews — 1 in 3 doctors in Europe are older than 55In 2022, over one-third of doctors in EU countries were aged 55 and over. This share was 40 per cent or more in half of the member states. According to the 'Health at a Glance: Europe 2024' report, co-published by the OECD and the European Commission, which said over one-third (35 per cent) of doctors in the EU were aged 55 or more.