The European Parliament’s Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA) took note on Thursday 15 July of the draft report by Véronique Trillet-Lenoir (Renew Europe, France) on the European strategy to improve cancer prevention and treatment in the EU.
The draft report was enthusiastically received by the various different political groups. Its final version will reflect the European Parliament’s position on the new plan, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (see EUROPE 12650/1), which Ms Trillet-Lenoir hopes will serve as a “model for the fight against other non-communicable diseases”.
Among the suggestions made by the MEP is the establishment of a “virtual European Cancer Institute”. This would be a body that would bring together representatives of national cancer programmes, patients’ and carers’ associations, and which would be tasked with coordinating national programmes, launching prevention campaigns and exchanging data and best practices.
Véronique Trillet-Lenoir, moreover, gave assurances that she would consider linking this initiative to another project that was tabled by the EPP coordinator, Peter Liese (Germany). He announced on Thursday that his group would propose that the European Commission should have a special envoy to work on eliminating the obstacles that currently prevent good cross-border cooperation in the fight against cancer.
Discrimination against victims
The ‘Right to be Forgotten’ is also a point highlighted by the rapporteur and one that several other groups want to emphasise. This measure, which has already been implemented in France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, means that patients “will not be doubly penalised after their recovery in terms of their access to bank loans and insurance”, said Trillet-Lenoir in summary.
In its draft report, the European Commission ”requests that by 2025, at the latest, all Member States should guarantee the Right to be Forgotten to all European patients ten years after the end of their treatment”.
The rapporteur also welcomes the European Commission’s promise to create a “Cancer Inequalities Register” in 2021, which should make it possible to identify disparities between the EU-27. In particular, the differences in cancer survival rates between the Member States, which amount to more than 25%.
Treatments
In its report, it also puts forward solutions to address issues related to accessing cancer treatment options. Among the options that it recommends the EU consider, are a common assessment of added value, group purchasing of medicines, diversification of manufacturing within the EU, etc.
In addition, it calls for a revision of EU legislation on paediatric and orphan medicines by the first quarter of 2022, with a view to increasing paediatric cancer treatments by 20%.
To see the proposals in detail: https://bit.ly/3B8fcBX (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)