At the 10th congress of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) in 2007 the so called Budapest Commitments were announced. At the center of attention was the further development and extension of all forms of education, research, politics, quality management and the general accessibility of the provision of drugs.

The basic principles of these commitments were implemented in the Charta for the care of seriously ill and dying humans which was established by the German Society for Palliative Care (DGP), the German Hospice- and Palliative Association (DHPV) as well as the German Medical Association (BÄK). This Charta includes five core principles:

1st Principle: Strengthening of the right to “die with dignity”. Creating an opposite pole to the effort of legalizing death on demand and instead supporting care and human cooperation.

2nd Principle: All those in need of care have to have access to a continuous provision of care.

3rd Principle: Request for the proper education and further training. Every dying human being has the right to an appropriate treatment and supervision. Those who work in palliative care have to have the possibility to receive extra training. The level of knowledge has to be implemented in the curriculum of any education related to the palliative care.

4th Principle: Development perspective and research. Every patient has the right to be treated based on the actual level of knowledge.

5th Principle: European and international recommendations and standards for the palliative care should be used in order to comfort the seriously ill.