Europe cannot afford to lose momentum in the fight against cancer. Five years after the launch of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, the European Parliament’s Committee on Public Health (SANT) has taken stock of what has been achieved and what still needs to change.
Much of the plan’s actions are completed or under way. Yet important targets remain out of reach. For patients, what matters is not how many actions are on a checklist. It is whether they prevent cancer, improve treatment and ultimately save lives.
Renew Europe is calling for a stronger focus on prevention, better support for the most vulnerable groups and increased funding for health in the next EU long-term budget (MFF).
Renew Europe is also leading proposals to set clear goals for patients, covering the entire cancer journey from prevention and early detection to treatment and survival. Progress towards these goals should be reviewed every year with the European Commission.
Rapporteur Vlad Voiculescu MEP (USR, RO) said:
“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.”
There has been progress, but significant gaps remain.
Europe has fallen short of its 2025 cancer screening target, while important prevention legislation is still delayed. At the same time, vaping among 15- and 16-year-olds has risen to 22%, underlining the need for stronger protection of young people from flavoured nicotine products.
Renew Europe wants the European Commission to track progress every year against clear patient outcomes.
That means faster action on tobacco and nicotine, easier access to treatment across borders and stronger efforts to reduce inequalities in cancer care. It also means better protection for cancer survivors, including action against discrimination when they apply for financial services such as loans.
Delivering on these priorities will require political commitment and adequate funding. Renew Europe is therefore calling for at least €2.5 billion for health in the next EU budget, with the ambition of building a genuine European Health Union.
Voiculescu said: “that is why pro-European political forces are asking for at least €2.5 billion in the next EU budget. We will keep working until Europe has a true Health Union.”
The report will now go to the European Parliament’s plenary for a final vote.