The current article is a statement of the meeting with international and multidisciplinary participation, held in Wrocław, Poland on September 11-13, 2008. The meeting was devoted to working out a position focusing on the challenge for individuals, health care systems, biological, psychosocial, epidemiological, medical, and public health sciences in the ageing populations of the twenty-first century. The statement is presented as an overview, in tabular format, of the current European situation regarding basic biological research on ageing, health promotion and preventive action, clinical care for older people, and recommendations for future actions.