Had your head buried very deeply in the sand for most of the last decade? Then it may have escaped your attention that the UK has cleaved itself away from the European Union. But fear not! The College and the Association of Anaesthetists are both still represented on the European Board of Anaesthesiology (EBA), the Anaesthesia section of the European Union of Medical Specialists.

Known by its French acronym, UEMS is a non-governmental organisation created in 1958 in the same year as the European parliament. The aims of UEMS are to improve patient care throughout Europe by developing and supporting excellence in specialist medical training and practice and, as a by-product, to promote free movement of medical specialists around the EU.

The UEMS represents more than 1.6 million specialist doctors from 41 countries:

• full UEMS members – EU countries plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, UK
• associate members – Armenia, Israel, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine
• observer countries – Georgia, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia.