COUNCIL RESOLUTION of 13 December 1993 concerning future guidelines for the 'Europe against Cancer' programme following evaluation of it for the period 1987 to 1992 (94/C 15/01)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Considering Article 3 (2) of Council Decision 90/238/Euratom, ECSC, EEC of the Council and the representatives of the Governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, of 17 May 1990 adopts a 1990 to 1994 action plan in the context of the 'Europe against Cancer' programme (1),

Whereas a report on the evaluation of the effectiveness of action undertaken in the context of the 'Europe against Cancer' programme (1987 to 1992) was submitted by the Commission on 23 March 1993,

RECOGNIZES the importance of the programme, which remains entirely valid today, in particular in its role as a catalyst for, and spur to, action in the Member States to combat cancer;

CONSIDERS that backing projects carried out in Member States and undertaking Community action are appropriate means of implementing the programme;

UNDERLINES, however, the need to redefine and strengthen, as provided in the programme, forms of cooperation between the Commission and Member States and - as one of the means available for that purpose - to ensure improved coordination between the various committees under the programme with a stronger role for the Consultative Committee;

INVITES the Commission to submit in due course a draft third action plan, taking into account the Council resolution of 27 May 1993 on future action in the field of public health as well as the objectives and improvements set out in the Annex.

(1) OJ No L 137, 30. 5. 1990, p. 31.

ANNEX

I. AREAS OF ACTION A. PRIMARY PREVENTION

The Council gives high priority to action in primary prevention where the Community can continue to provide impetus for national action.

1. Information

(a) Objective:

to improve Community citizens' knowledge of cancer prevention in order to encourage them to adopt healthy life-styles, in particular, by disseminating the European code.

(b) Improvements:

- to ensure adequate dissemination of information,

- to improve the quality of exchanges of information on cancer prevention activities between Member States,

- to target information campaigns more precisely on specific groups.

2. Health education

(a) Objective:

to undertake action directed particularly at young people and children at an early stage to encourage healthy life-styles.

(b) Improvements:

- to make greater effort to implement basic health education programmes giving priority to anti-smoking education and emphasizing in particular healthy nutrition,

- to coordinate action undertaken in the context of the cancer programme with that in other programmes, particularly those of international organizations, involving health education,

- to encourage innovation in continuing training for teachers and others with responsibility for health education.

B. SECONDARY PREVENTION

The Council recognizes that Community action in this field has allowed the knowledge and experience acquired in some of the Member States to be spread throughout the whole Community.

(a) Objective:

to contribute, by Community action, to the development and implementation of efficient screening methods, having due regard to the specific features of each Member State.

(b) Improvements:

- to disseminate suitable practice based on the guidelines drawn up for quality control in the early diagnosis of and screening for cancer,

- to improve the quality of screening through continuing training,

- to continue to study effectiveness of and accuracy in screening, taking into account the particular characteristics of each Member State.

C. OTHER ACTION

The Council stresses the importance of continuing Community action in the areas of research, epidemiological studies, care and training.

1. Research

(a) Objective:

to extend knowledge of the causes, prevention and treatment of cancer.

(b) Improvements:

- to make Community action in this field more transparent to Member States and show, in particular through dissemination and exploitation of research findings, how research contributes to the programme,

- to reinforce basic research and work linking biomedical research to clinical research,

- to increase cooperation between Member States through greater participation in European research networks and through exchanges of young researchers,

- to strengthen cooperation with international organizations involved in cancer research.

2. Cancer registers and epidemiological studies

(a) Objective:

to facilitate the collection, in particular in cooperation with the WHO, of reliable and comparable data on the incidence of cancer in order to monitor the problem, identify trends and carry out epidemiological studies at a European level.

(b) Improvements:

- to strengthen links between existing cancer registers in the context of the European network,

- to encourage epidemiological studies to be carried out on the risks associated with cancer.

3. Care

(a) Objective:

to promote cooperation between Member States in the fields of quality control regarding care, palliative care and responsibility for patient welfare.

(b) Improvements:

- to increase exchanges of experience and dissemination of best practice and know-how at a European level,

- to promote exchanges of experience on the way in which aspects relating to informing patients, responsibility for their welfare and psychosocial counselling for patients are included in the care which they receive.

4. Training

(a) Objective:

to help to improve cancer-related training for health-care workers.

(b) Improvements:

- to increase participation in the initial and continuing training networks for health-care workers involved in the fight against cancer,

- to facilitate mobility during training,

- to encourage consideration of psychosocial aspects in the training of health-care workers involved in the fight against cancer.

II. THE MEANS The Council continues to support a comprehensive approach to fighting cancer by using several complementary means, such as those mentioned below, in the context of Community action.

A. LEGAL MEANS

(a) Objective:

the legal means adopted by the Council must reinforce public health policy on cancer prevention in each Member State, particularly to promote healthy life-styles and to create an environment conducive to such efforts.

(b) Improvements:

- Community action must encourage the action to be undertaken by Member States,

- increase the account taken of health aspects in Community policies, with particular attention to cancer risk factors.

B. FINANCIAL MEANS

(a) Objective:

to strengthen the role of Community action as a catalyst for Member States' action.

(b) Improvements:

- make available appropriate resources to continue the fight against cancer, inter alia through cancer research,

- criteria to ensure consistency in the programme as a whole must be submitted to the various committees before projects are selected,

- work closely with the Member States to simplify and speed up the funding procedures used in the programme's administration, and ensure that those procedures are better known.

C. COOPERATION

(a) Objective:

strengthen cooperation between all the parties involved in the programme.

(b) Improvements:

- strengthen and extend existing networks and pilot projects,

- increase cooperation with international organizations involved in the fight against cancer,

- develop communication and cooperation between the programme and the authorities in the Member States involved in the fight against cancer,

- inform Member States of all projects.

III. METHOD OF PROGRAMME EVALUATION The Council is aware of the need to clarify the objectives established by the 1990 Decision in order to improve the effectiveness of programme evaluation.

(a) Objective:

ongoing assessment of the programme, particularly when the annual report on execution is submitted, on the basis of the effectiveness of action undertaken and achievement of the objectives set out above.

(b) Improvements:

- work on the basis of intermediate objectives on which there is a consensus in the Community,

- see to the incorporation of an evaluation procedure right from the planning stage of measures,

- submit the evaluation within the specified time limit.