New parliamentary committee to work on master plan to beat cancer

Taking up a proposal by the EPP Group, the European Parliament decides today on setting up a Special Committee on Cancer. "Millions of Europeans are suffering due to cancer. It is a tragedy for the families involved and for society as a whole. We must shift the trend, we must join all our forces and beat cancer", said EPP Group Chairman Manfred Weber MEP.

During the electoral campaign last year, the EPP Group committed to put fighting cancer at the top of the European agenda with, amongst others, a special parliamentary committee which will make new policy proposals.

"We have delivered on our promise. Now it is time to combine and upgrade our efforts. This is not only a political party issue anymore. It is becoming an issue for the whole European Union. The goal is to present a comprehensive master plan next year in the fight against cancer. We can only beat cancer if we work together", Weber stressed.

The EPP Group has already made a couple of proposals in the past on how to step up the fight against cancer including a call to increase funding for cancer research by 50 percent from €80 to €120 billion over the next seven years (2021-2027), to pool data, to ensure the same quality care across the EU and to encourage prevention and early detection.

The establishment of the Special Committee is part of a wider campaign by the EPP Group to mobilise all possible support and resources in Europe in the fight against cancer.

See more on our #EUCanBeatCancer page.