What is EU EYE

The European Alliance for Vision Research and Ophthalmology (EU EYE) is a non-profit pan European group formed in 2015.

We draw from the experience of our community of patients and clinicians across Europe with an ambition to build a respected forum which brings medicine, science, education and advocacy together and is accessible to all – citizens, decision makers, research and healthcare workforce.

As a partner to the European Innovation Partnership on Active Healthy Ageing since December 2017, we advocate for people-centred eye health care with an on-going commitment to the integration of research priorities, policies and strategies in eye health at European level.

We maintain a varied portfolio of activities with the aim to open up the space for the patient empowerment process and the creation of new translational and fundamental research networks in our discipline.

We strive to mediate between high and bottom-up actions while building our shared vision of a digitally transformed healthcare that is part of the European Research Area while improving standards for eye health globally.
We strongly believe that registry- and biobanking based research can build medical knowledge and guide the process of improvement of health systems across Europe.
We want to ensure continued support for the pilot efforts of our members in setting up European clinical quality registries to study, benchmark and improve patient care and health outcomes. Our long-term goal is to develop multicentre international clinical trial studies following the Good Clinical Practice regulations.

The essence of our alliance is to advance interdependence and inspire collaborative work while recognizing members’ independence. Our member organisations maintain their own links to their national equivalent societies with some having committees specifically assigned to identify areas where national societies can provide experience that would be of value in Europe at large. Members hold international congresses, courses, wetlabs and exams in each subspecialty and support the next generation by harmonising education and providing fellowships and world renowned training programmes.

EU EYE constituency comprises of ophthalmological societies representing over 9,000 medical specialists active in clinical medicine, research, education and training in 100 countries.

Board members

Alistair LaidlawEURETINA Representative
Board Member

Thomas Fuchsluger EVER Representative
Board Member

José Güell Eu Cornea Representative
Board Member

Marie-José Tassignon ESCRS Representative
Board Member

Hendrik Scholl EVI & EVICR.net REPRESENTATIVE
Board Member

Darius Hildebrand EPOS Representative
Board Member

EU-EYE Bye-Laws

(Condensed)

1. The Society

1.1 The name of the Society is the European Alliance for Vision Research and Ophthalmology (EU-EYE)
1.2 The European Alliance for Vision Research and Ophthalmology is represented by:
– The European Association for the Study of Diabetes;
– The European Eye Bank Association;
– The European Glaucoma Society;
– The European Paediatric Ophthalmology Society;
– The European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons;
– The European Society of Retina Specialists;
– The European Association for Vision and Eye Research.

1.3 The society is officially registered in Belgium
1.4 The association is a non-profit-making pan European advocacy organization.
1.5 The main purpose of the Society is:

• To raise political and societal awareness for the increasing need for Vision Research and Ophthalmology at European level.

1.6 The central office of the Society is located in Dublin, Ireland.

2. Members

2.1 The Association consists of ordinary members and ex-officio members. Ex-officio members will abstain from voting.
2.2 The founding associations, institutions or organisation are the first ordinary members and the first ex-officio members.
2.3 The ordinary members as well as the ex-officio members constitute together the General Assembly of Board Members.
2.4 Each member can resign at any time.
2.5 The General Assembly of Board Members decides on a discretionary basis upon the acceptance of the membership application of new members.

3. General Assembly of Board Members

3.1 The Board has the ultimate power to realize the aims and the organisation of the Association.
3.2 The General Assembly of Board members shall convene annually before June 30th of each year, either at the location of the Association or at an address to be determined.
3.3 Each member of the General Assembly of Board Members has one vote at the General Assembly. Ex-officio members will abstain from voting.
3.4 The General Assembly of Board Members will be chaired by the President of the Executive Committee or by default by the senior member first by function, then by age of the Executive Committee.

Bye-laws (full)

4. Management

4.1 All powers for the management of the Association lie with the Executive Committee.
4.2 The Executive Committee elects amongst members a President, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer.
4.3 The Executive Committee is in charge of the daily management of the Association.

5. Budget and accounts

5.1 The financial year starts on the 1st of January and ends on the 31st of December of each year.
5.2 The accounts of the Association have to be submitted by the Executive Committee for approval by the General Assembly of Board Members.
5.3 The General Assembly of Board Members can decide to constitute a reserve fund and to determine its amount.

6. Modification of the articles of association. Dissolution

6.1 The General Assembly of Board members cannot validly deliberate on such proposals unless at least 3/4 of its members are present or represented. The decision has to be taken with a majority of 2/3 of the votes.

Financial Information

In line with European Union transparency requirements, we present the overview of finances over the past years. EU EYE is registered with the EU Transparency Register under No 221589017973-83.