Wednesday, 25 March, 2026
The General Assembly, held on 25 March in Vienna during ECIM 2026, brought together more than 95 representatives from 41 national societies across Europe and beyond. The meeting reflected the continued strength and growth of the EFIM community, with active engagement and broad support of the national societies.
Prof. George Dalekos presented EFIM’s key initiatives and achievements from 2025, as well as the priorities set for 2026. The GA formally approved all presented initiatives, reaffirming EFIM’s commitment to advancing Internal Medicine across Europe and globally.
We are pleased to congratulate the newly elected Treasurer, Dr. Annette Kurrle from the German Society of Internal Medicine, DGIM. Although she was unfortunately unable to attend the meeting in person due to illness, the GA representatives expressed their full support, and we look forward to working with Dr. Kurrle in this important role.
Prof. Dalekos and the Executive Committee expressed their sincere gratitude to Dr. Filomena Pietrantonio, who stepped down after four years serving as a Treasurer. Her commitment and valuable contributions to EFIM were warmly acknowledged. Although she was unfortunately unable to attend the meeting, Dr. Fredrik von Wowern, EFIM President-Elect, presented the strong financial results achieved in 2025, as well as the approval of the accounts for 2027 and the projection for 2026.
An important governance milestone was accomplished with the approval of updates to the EFIM Bylaws, concerning the eligibility criteria for EFIM Executive Committee officers presented by Prof. Margus Lember, EFIM Secretary General.
Furthermore we are pleased to welcome two new Associate members' societies to the EFIM community:
marking an important step in further strengthening EFIM’s global collaboration and outreach.
EFIM is now comprising of 50 national societies from 47 countries in Europe and globally becoming the leading professional organisation for internists in Europe and worldwide.
Prof. Dalekos announced the launch of new EFIM Clinical Research Grants in 2026, aimed at supporting high quality research within the internal medicine community. In addition, a Call for Applications for the position of Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Internal Medicine (EJIM) for 2027 was officially announced.
Special thanks were extended to Dr. Mine Durusu for her dedicated work as Editor-in-Chief of the EFIM Academy, as she steps down from this role. The General Assembly warmly welcomed her successor, Dr. Janaka Karalliedde, who has already demonstrated outstanding leadership and successfully secured strong support from Boehringer Ingelheim for the Academy’s ongoing activities.
Prof. Dalekos was pleased to inform the GA representatives that ECIM 2026 in Vienna is expected to host over 2,500 participants, highlighting the growing interest and relevance of the congress.
An overview of EFIM’s activities over the past year were presented by the Chairs of the WG, YI, Early Career, schools and both journals, presenting EFIM’s ongoing work and achievements.
In addition, Prof. Dalekos had the honor of announcing the two 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award recipients: Prof. Petra-Maria Schumme-Draeger from the German Society of Internal Medicine, whom we were delighted to welcome at the General Assembly, and Prof. Günter Krejs from the Austrian Society of Internal Medicine.
Prof. Dalekos concluded the GA by thanking all participants and national societies for their engagement, contributions, and continued support to EFIM and invited them to enjoy the congress in the beautiful venue of the Hofburg Palace!
The presentations from the General Assembly are now available for download below.
The list of participants is available for download below.
We encourage all our members to review them for all EFIM’s ongoing projects and future plans.
For any suggestions and proposals please write to us on info@efim.org to share your thoughts.
Downloads:
