The broad concept of Active and Healthy Ageing was proposed by WHO as the process of optimizing opportunities for health to enhance quality of life as people age. It applies to both individuals and population groups. A universal active and healthy ageing definition is not available and may differ depending on the purpose of the definition and/or the questions raised. The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP on AHA) has had a major impact but a definition of Active and Healthy Ageing is urgently needed. A meeting was organised in Montpellier October 20-21, 2014 as the annual conference of the EIP on AHA Reference Site MACVIA-LR (contre les MAladies Chroniques pour un VIeillissement Actif en Languedoc Roussillon). The goal of the meeting was to propose an operational definition of Active and Healthy Ageing as well as tools that may be used for this definition. The current paper provides a summary of the plenary presentations that were given during the meeting.