Since January 2008, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has been administrating a Health Monitoring System, i.e., health examination surveys and health interview surveys with longitudinal components being alternatingly performed. These surveys are continuously accompanied by annual cross-sectional interview surveys of the population living in Germany. The content and structure of the Health Monitoring System is explained and the actual on-going surveys are described in this paper. An overview of future surveys and their integration within the European context demonstrates the new quality in utilizing the data obtained by longitudinal and cross-sectional analyses for health reporting, health policies and health sciences.