Urgent action needed: Europe risks missing key cancer targets
Five years after the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan was launched, the Committee on Public Health (SANT) adopted the implementation report. With this, the EU parliament sends a clear message to European citizens: the measure of its success must be the number of lives saved, not the number of actions recorded as under way. Liberals and democrats are calling for four main changes: actions on prevention,support for the most vulnerable groups and more funds in the next MFF. Renew Europe is leading the proposals to set clear goals for patients, from prevention to survival. These goals have to be reviewed every year with the Commission.
“We have to be honest: Europe risks missing some of its biggest cancer promises. The report on the implementation of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is clear that the Tobacco-Free Generation and the end of cervical cancer are still far from reach, and the revision of the tobacco law is still waiting. This is hard to accept when we know that around 40% of cancers can be prevented. Now that the SANT Committee voted on our cancer report, it is clear that the EU is serious about taking action and will deliver real results to real patients.”
Vlad Vasile-VoiculescuRenew Europe MEP, Romania, Uniunea Salvați România
, said MEP Vlad VOICULESCU, rapporteur.
More than 90% of its actions are concluded or ongoing, yet the EU has fallen short of its 2025 screening target and key prevention laws are delayed. Meanwhile, vaping among 15-16-year-olds has risen to 22%, and the report calls for better protection of young people from flavoured nicotine products. Liberals and democrats want the Commission to review progress against clear patient outcomes every year. Its priorities include: faster action on tobacco and nicotine, easier access to treatment across borders when needed, reducing inequalities in cancer care, and protection for survivors who face discrimination when seeking a loan.
MEP Voiculescu added: “That is why pro-european political forces are asking for at least €2.5 billion in the next EU budget and we will keep working until Europe has a true Health Union.”
The next step will be a vote in plenary.