On World Cancer Day
B-10-2026-0142
on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group · Rapporteur: Tilly Metz, Nicolae Ștefănuță, Martin Häusling, Vicent Marzà Ibáñez, Majdouline Sbai, Ville Niinistö, Mounir Satouri, Ignazio Roberto Marino
- Voted on · Adopted 427–15–93 · See the decision →
- Full procedure 2026/2586
Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.
Parliament's resolution on World Cancer Day marks the day, expresses solidarity, and calls for renewed commitment to Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, dedicated EU health funding, and action on prevention, inequalities, and access to care.¶¶¶ It urges integrating gender and age perspectives, improving cross-border care, ensuring affordable medicines, and protecting cancer survivors from financial discrimination.¶¶¶
Key points
- Marks World Cancer Day on 4 February and expresses solidarity with patients, survivors, families, healthcare professionals and researchers.¶
- Calls on the Commission and Member States to fully implement Europe's Beating Cancer Plan through the 2028-2034 MFF, with adequate funding and annual reporting.¶
- Regrets lack of dedicated health funding in the 2028-2034 MFF and calls for a specific EU health programme with a dedicated envelope.¶
- Calls for recognising health and cancer care as social investment objectives, including in recovery and resilience plans.¶
- Stresses integrating gender differences into cancer research and care, and calls for targeted strategies to ensure equitable access.¶
- Calls for enhanced EU cooperation on paediatric oncology, including research, data sharing, clinical trials, and cross-border referral.¶
- Promotes geriatric oncology as a branch needing special consideration, funding, and research.¶
- Calls for high-quality treatment infrastructure based on European guidelines and stronger cross-border access to specialised care and trials.¶¶
- Calls for fair, timely, affordable access to oncological medicines, voluntary joint procurement, price transparency, and addressing delays.¶
- Calls on the Commission to support Member States in implementing cancer screening and vaccine-preventable cancer recommendations.¶
- Stresses reducing exposure to risk factors like tobacco, alcohol, unhealthy diet, and environmental contaminants, and supports a tobacco-free generation.¶
- Calls for tackling health disinformation and protecting cancer survivors from financial discrimination, including the right to be forgotten.¶¶
Who is affected
- Cancer patients, survivors, families, healthcare professionals, and researchers across Europe.¶
- Children and adolescents with cancer, and their families, needing equitable access to treatments and follow-up care.¶
- Older patients with cancer, who would benefit from geriatric oncology.¶
- Cancer survivors seeking access to financial services like mortgages, loans, and insurance.¶
Figures and deadlines
- 2.7 million people diagnosed with cancer and 1.3 million killed annually in the EU.¶
- Cancer-related health spending doubled from EUR 54 billion in 1995 to EUR 120 billion in 2023.¶
- At least 40% of all cancer cases could be prevented with effective primary prevention.¶
- 4.1% of all new cancer cases worldwide in 2020 were attributable to alcohol consumption.¶
- Tobacco use responsible for almost 20% of all cancer-related deaths in 2021.¶
- 2.3 million women die prematurely from cancer each year; 1.5 million preventable, 800,000 averted with optimal care.¶
- Rare cancers account for more than one in five cancer diagnoses in the EU.¶
- Goal to reduce tobacco use to below 5% of the population by 2040.¶
Legal basis: Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union¶