European Parliament resolution on breast cancer in the enlarged European Union
Date: 2006-10-25
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: action programme, cancer, disease prevention, health policy, medical research, patient's rights, position of women

20.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 313 E/273

Wednesday 25 October 2006

8.
Calls for the EU-Russia Human Rights Dialogue to be stepped up so as to make it more effective and
result-oriented, while fully involving the European Parliament at all levels, with a view to strengthening this
element in the new PCA due to be negotiated soon;

Considers that all democratic institutions, including the European Parliament, should fulfil their moral
9.
obligation to condemn such crimes without delay, showing their determination to defend human rights,
regardless of political circumstances;

Expresses its deep concern at the fact that, under the new legislation on civil society organisations,
10.
more than 90 non-governmental organisations have been forced to cease their operations in Russia; urges
the Russian authorities to speed up the registration procedures, in the meantime allowing those organisa-
tions to pursue their activities until their application is correctly dealt with and entered in the register; calls
on the Russian Government not to use the vagueness of the rules of the new law as a pretext to silence the
critical voices of civil society;

11.
Is aware that the only way to truly honour Anna Politkovskaya's passionate commitment to truth,
justice and human dignity is to make common efforts to realise Anna Politkovskaya's dream of a democratic
Russia which fully respects the rights and liberties of its citizens;

12.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the parliaments and
governments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of the Russian Federation and the
Council of Europe.

P6_TA(2006)0449

Breast cancer

European Parliament resolution on breast cancer in the enlarged European Union

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Article 152 of the EC Treaty,

— having regard to Article 35 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (1),

— having regard to its resolution of 5 June 2003 on breast cancer in the European Union (2),

— having regard to its resolution of 13 February 2003 on the Commission communication on Commun-

ity and national measures in relation to breast implants (3),

— having regard to its resolution of 4 October 2001 on the patenting of BRCA1 and BRCA2 breast

cancer genes (4),

— having regard to the Council Recommendation of 2 December 2003 on cancer screening (5),

— having regard to the fourth edition of the Commission's ‘European guidelines for quality assurance in

breast cancer screening and diagnosis’ of April 2006 (6) (‘the EU guidelines’),

— having regard to the meeting of the IARC Cancer Control Forum, comprising the directors of the
national cancer research institutes, held from 17 to 19 July 2006 at the International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon,

(1) OJ C 364, 18.12.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ C 68 E, 18.3.2004, p. 611.
(3) OJ C 43 E, 19.2.2004, p. 363.
(4) OJ C 87 E, 11.4.2002, p. 265.
(5) OJ L 327, 16.12.2003, p. 34.
(6)

ISBN 92-79-01258-4.

C 313 E/274

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

20.12.2006

Wednesday 25 October 2006

— having regard to the workshop on ‘The Need for European Guidelines on Breast Care Nursing’ held at

the European Parliament on 17 October 2006,

— having regard to Rule 108(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas breast cancer is the commonest cancer in women and 275 000 women contract breast cancer

in the European Union every year (1),

B. whereas ever-increasing numbers of younger women are contracting breast cancer: 35 % of women
with breast cancer are aged under 55, and 12 % of breast cancer cases even involve women aged
under 45 (2),

C. whereas breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women aged between 35 and 59 (3), and 88 000

women die of breast cancer in the European Union every year (4),

D. whereas breast cancer is the second most common of all cancers, and whereas men also contract breast

cancer, some 1 000 men dying of breast cancer in the European Union every year (5),

E. whereas young women with breast cancer are particularly affected by problems such as reintegration
into the employment market and inadequate financial protection, and are also faced with very specific
life-plan problems such as infertility caused by hormone treatment and being diagnosed while pregnant,

F. whereas, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer mortality rates vary among
the EU-25 Member States by over 50 %, and the mastectomy rate even for early-stage breast cancer
differs by up to 60 % among the Member States (6),

G. whereas the causes of breast cancer must be more comprehensively investigated, particularly the role of
harmful chemicals and environmental pollutants, nutrition, lifestyle, genetic factors, and the interactions
of all these,

H. whereas, according to the WHO, mammographic screening can reduce deaths from breast cancer by up
to 35 % in women aged between 50 and 69, and early studies show that screening can also help to
reduce mortality in women aged between 40 and 49 (7),

I. whereas although the EU guidelines for breast cancer screening were first drawn up in 1992, mammo-
graphic screening is currently only offered nationwide in 11 Member States (Belgium, the Czech Repub-
lic, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain and the United
Kingdom),

J. whereas even in the abovementioned Member States with nationwide screening, this is often not carried
out in accordance with the EU guidelines from the population point of view, and fails to meet many
other quality criteria, and whereas those guidelines are still almost unknown in the new Member States,

K. whereas nationwide breast cancer care with interdisciplinary units complying with the high standards
recommended in the EU guidelines is provided in only one Member State (the United Kingdom), and
even there is not fully implemented,

L. whereas breast cancer care of guaranteed quality leads in the medium and long term to savings for the
health care system, since unnecessary tests and treatments can be avoided, and breast cancer is detected
earlier, so that fewer cost-intensive operations and follow-up treatments are necessary,

(1) P. Boyle et al. (2005): Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Europe, 2004. Annals of Oncology 16: 481-488.
(2)

Ferlay J. et al., Globocan 2002. Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence Worldwide. IARC CancerBase No 5,
Version 2.0. IARCPress, Lyon, 2004.

(3) Eurostat: Causes of death by region (per 100 000 inhabitants, 3-year average, women).
(4) P. Boyle et al. (2005): Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Europe, 2004. Annals of Oncology 16: 481-488.
(5) Eurostat: Causes of death — absolute number (annual data, men).
(6)

J. Jassem et al. (March 2004): ‘Surgical Approaches to Early Breast Cancer’, International Collaborative Cancer Group
(ICCG), Imperial College, London.
IARC Handbook of Cancer Prevention, Vol. 7, Breast Cancer Screening (2002).

(7)

20.12.2006

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Official Journal of the European Union

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Wednesday 25 October 2006

M. whereas the fourth edition of the EU guidelines (2006) recommends deployment of two breast care
nurses per breast unit (1), but whereas there is as yet no generally recognised training profile for this
profession,

N. whereas the specialised training of all medical staff called for in the EU guidelines is essential to the
quality of early detection and treatment, and whereas the corresponding provision of further training
can be funded in the EU Member States from the European Social Fund and, in the accession countries,
from pre-accession funds,

O. whereas the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) can be used in the new Member States for
the development of health care structures, and consequently for the implementation of mammographic
screening and specialised breast units, and whereas this is also possible in the accession countries with
the help of pre-accession funds,

P. whereas with the Lisbon Strategy an employment quota of 60 % for women is targeted by 2010, and
whereas the most recent studies show that one fifth of former breast cancer patients do not return to
work, although they are deemed fit to do so (2), and that women who return to work are often faced
with reductions in their income (3),

Calls on the Commission to present without delay the progress report, which Parliament called for by
1.
2006 in its above-mentioned resolution of 5 June 2003, on the steps taken by the Member States to lower
breast cancer mortality rates;

Calls on the Commission to present in 2007 the report on implementation of cancer screening pro-

2.
grammes in accordance with the above-mentioned Council Recommendation of 2 December 2003;

3.
Reiterates its call on the Member States to introduce nationwide breast screening, whereby all women
aged between 50 and 69 will be offered a mammogram in line with the EU guidelines at two-year intervals,
in order to achieve a significant decrease in deaths from breast cancer;

Expects the Member States to adopt better information policies on the importance of breast screening

4.
with a view to raising acceptance and participation rates among women;

Calls on the Commission to support studies of the conditions under which mammographic screening

5.
could also be useful for women over 69 years of age;

6.
Calls on the Member States to ensure nationwide provision of interdisciplinary breast units in accor-
dance with the EU guidelines by 2016, since treatment in an interdisciplinary breast unit has been proved to
raise chances of survival and to improve the quality of life, and calls on the Commission to deliver a
progress report on this every two years;

Calls on the Commission to present up-to-date, reliable data on the situation of women with breast

7.
cancer and to point out in this context the need for national cancer registers in all the Member States;

Calls urgently for the future financing of the European cancer network to be guaranteed, so that the
8.
work on EU guidelines for the profession of breast care nurse and for a certification protocol for breast
units in accordance with the principles and procedures for verifying conformity already established by the
Commission can be completed;

Calls for stepped-up support for research into breast cancer prevention,

9.
including research on the
effects of harmful chemicals and environmental pollutants, nutrition, lifestyle, genetic factors, and the inter-
actions of all these, and calls for the links between breast cancer and potential risk factors such as tobacco,
alcohol and hormones to be investigated;

(1)
ISBN 92-79-01258-4, p. 349.
(2) Laetita Malavolti et al. (May 2006):

‘Situation professionnelle et difficultés économiques des patients atteints d'un
cancer deux ans après le diagnostic’, Direction de la recherche des études de l'évaluation et des statistiques, Etudes
et Résultats, no 487.

(3) Umberto V. (1999): Caring about women and cancer, European Journal of Cancer.

C 313 E/276

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Wednesday 25 October 2006

Calls on the Commission to provide funding for the further development of blood-based tests (bio-

10.
marker tests) within the Seventh Research Framework Programme;

11.
Expects the Commission, in the context of the Seventh Research Framework Programme, to promote
the development of therapies with minimal side-effects, as well as comprehensive investigations of the
causes of breast cancer, and to contribute to the promotion of independent scientific research into breast
cancer;

Calls on the Commission to continue research, under the Seventh Research Framework Programme,
12.
into technical and physical issues and alternatives to conventional forms of mammography, such as digital
mammography;

Calls on the Commission to draw up a charter for the protection of the rights of breast cancer
13.
patients and chronically sick people in the workplace, with a view to requiring firms to make it possible
for patients to continue in employment during their treatment and to return to the employment market
after it has finished;

Calls on the Member States to set up information and advice centres on hereditary breast cancer, and

14.
calls on the Commission to present a progress report on this every two years;

Calls on the Commission to devote special attention to the problems of young women with breast

15.
cancer by providing information geared to their needs;

Calls on the Commission to point out to the new Member States and accession countries that the

16.
ERDF and the pre-accession funds can be used to create health care infrastructure;

Calls on the Member States to make use of the possibility of providing further training for medical

17.
personnel, in accordance with the EU guidelines, via the European Social Fund;

18.
Calls on the Commission to take a lead role in worldwide cooperation in the fight against breast
cancer in synergy with other international partners (WHO, IARC, IAEA, etc.) and to propagate the EU
guidelines even beyond the borders of Europe;

Calls on the Commission not only to make the EU guidelines available in printed form, but also to

19.
offer them in readable and downloadable form on the internet;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments of

20.
the Member States and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.

P6_TA(2006)0450

Third-country anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard action

European Parliament resolution on the annual report from the Commission to the European
Parliament on third country anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard action against the Community
(2004) (2006/2136(INI))

The European Parliament,

— having regard to the annual report from the Commission to the European Parliament on third country
anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard action against the Community (2004) (COM(2005)0594),

— having regard to its resolution of 22 October 2002 on the Nineteenth annual report from the Com-
mission to the European Parliament on the Community's anti-dumping and anti-subsidy activities —
Overview of the monitoring of third country anti-dumping, anti-subsidy and safeguard cases (1),

(1) OJ C 300 E, 11.12.2003, p. 120.