CELEX: 51989PC0210
Language: en
Date: 1989-06-13
Title: DRAFT COUNCIL RESOLUTION CONCERNING AN ACTION PLAN 1990-1994 IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE " EUROPE AGAINST CANCER " PROGRAMME

1. 7. 89                              Official Journal of the European Communities                           No C 164/11
                                                             II
                                                     (Preparatory Acts)
                                                COMMISSION
               Draft Council resolution concerning an action plan 1990 to 1994 in the framework of the
                                             Europe against cancer programme
                                                    COM(89) 210 final
                                      (Submitted by the Commission on 11 May 1989)
                                                       (89/C 164/05)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                         action of the European Communities against cancer (x)
                                                                 which is concerned principally with cancer prevention;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European            Whereas the Council and the Representatives of the
Communities,                                                     Governments of the Member States, meeting within the
                                                                 Council, have adopted Decision 88/351/EEC (2) on a
                                                                 1988 to 1989 action plan for an information and public
                                                                 awareness campaign in the context of the Europe against
Having regard to the draft resolution submitted by the
                                                                 cancer programme;
Commission,
                                                                 Whereas various Community actions to prevent cancers
                                                                 arising from exposure to ionizing radiation or exposure
Having regard       to  the  opinion    of  the  European        to chemical carcinogens are already being carried out
Parliament,                                                      under the Treaties establishing the European Economic
                                                                 Community and the European Atomic Energy
                                                                 Community;
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and
Social Committee,                                                Whereas actions to reduce the risk of cancer from
                                                                 exposure to carcinogenic substances are included in a
                                                                 number of existing Community programmes on the en-
Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 of the Treaty establishing        vironment, worker protection, consumer protection,
the European Economic Community, it is the                       nutrition, agriculture and the internal market;
Community's       task to promote throughout            the
Community a harmonious development of economic                   Whereas the present action plan would increase
activities, a continuous and balanced expansion, and an          knowledge about the causes of cancer and the possible
accelerated raising of the standard of living;                   means of preventing and treating it;
                                                                 Whereas by ensuring a wider dissemination of
                                                                 knowledge of the causes, prevention, screening and
Whereas the European Councils held in June 1985 in
                                                                 treatment of cancer, as well as an improvement in the
Milan and in December 1985 in Luxembourg underlined
                                                                 comparability of information about those matters, in
the advantages of launching a European programme
                                                                 particular concerning the nature and degree of risk of
against cancer;
                                                                 cancer arising from exposure to given substances or
                                                                 processes, the programme will contribute to the
                                                                 achievement of Community objectives, while contri-
Whereas in December 1986 in London the European                  buting to the overall reduction of risks of cancer;
Council decided that 1989 should be designated
European cancer information year and specified that the          Whereas it is advisable to promote the diffusion and the
aim would be to develop a sustained and concerted                implementation of recommendations on the oncology
information campaign in all the Member States on the             content of training programmes which were approved in
prevention, early screening and treatment of cancer;             1988 by the three advisory committees on training of
                                                                 health personnel;
Whereas the Council and the Representatives of the
Governments of the Member States, meeting within the             0) OJ No C 184, 23. 7. 1986, p. 19.
Council, have adopted a resolution on a programme of             (2) OJ No L 160, 28. 6. 1988, p. 52.
 ---pagebreak--- No C 164/12                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                      1. 7. 89
Whereas it is advisable to support training actions in                 in the fields of prevention, information and health
respect of cancer for health personnel of one Member                   education, and training of the health professions, and
State in leading training centres in another Member                    whereas to this end the amount of the Community
State;                                                                 contribution deemed necessary amounts to ECU 55
                                                                       million,
Whereas duplications of effort should be avoided by the
promotion of exchanges of experience and by the devel-
                                                                       INVITES THE COMMISSION:
opment of common basic information modules for the
public, and for the training of members of the health                   1. to implement the 1990 to 1994 action plan set out in
professions;                                                               Annex I;
Whereas it is advisable to continue and strengthen, from               2. to keep the European Parliament and the Council
1990 to 1994, action undertaken between 1987 and 1989                      informed of progress.
                                                               ANNEX I
                                       ACTIONS TO BE IMPLEMENTED IN 1990 to 1994
             During the period 1990 to 1994, information on the progress of the Europe against cancer programme,
             and on the possibilities of Community financing in the following fields of action will be published regulary:
                                                         I. Cancer prevention
                                                         (including screening)
             A. Fight against tobacco addiction
                — stimulation of projects of European interest concerning the prevention of tobacco smoking among
                   youngsters and women,
                — stimulation of smoking prevention actions of European interest among educational personnel and
                   health professionals,
                — support of pilot actions promoting the teaching of tobacco-use cessation methods among health
                   professionals and educational personnel,
                — support for innovative information campaigns to prevent smoking among the general public and in
                   the workplace;
             B. Nutrition and cancer (including alcohol)
                — launch of European-wide combined analyses (meta-analysis) of existing data on nutrition and
                   cancer,
                — extension of European case-control studies on links between nutrition and cancer to areas not
                   covered in the first action plan,
                — completion of the feasibility studies, launched in the first 1987 to 1989 action plan and of European
                   prospective studies on nutrition and cancer,
                — launch of European-wide studies on the potential benefits of certain anti-promoting agents,
                — drafting of guidelines on nutrition aimed at improving cancer prevention;
             C. Fight against carcinogenic agents
                — continuation of all Community actions concerning protection against ionizing radiation,
                — support of studies and actions of European interest aiming at improving protection against ultra-
                   violet radiation,
                — continuation of European studies on the possible carcinogenic risk of certain chemical substances,
                — continuation of classification and labelling of carcinogenic substances at European level;
 ---pagebreak--- 1. 7. 89                            Official J o u r n a l of the E u r o p e a n C o m m u n i t i e s            N o C 164/13
         D. Systematic screening and early diagnosis
            — continuation of comparative studies concerning the improvement of the organization of cancer
                screening policies,
            — extension and monitoring of the European network of breast cancer screening pilot programme,
            — evaluation studies of existing cervical cancer screening programmes and setting up of a European
                network of pilot regional or local programmes,
            — continuation of evaluation studies on screening programmes for colo-rectal cancer and eventual
                setting-up of a European network,
            — promotion of studies of European interest on the efficiency and the feasibility of screening and early
                detection of other cancers;
         E. Cancer registration and similar actions
            — support of the establishment of cancer registries throughout the European Community and
                setting-up of a European network,
            — link-up of existing bone marrow banks and feasibility study on a European registry.
                                             II. Information and health education
         A. Public information
            — eventual updating of the European code against cancer,
            — renewal each year of a European information action on cancer during the second week of October,
            — production of European television programmes on prevention, screening and treatment of cancers,
            — diffusion of the European code to the general public by the partners of the programme,
            — support for innovative actions for cancer information on cancer prevention among targeted groups,
            — steady evaluation of the efficacy of the efforts made;
         B. Health education in cancer prevention
            — support of information and awareness of education personnel about the European code against
                cancer,
            — dissemination of educational supports for health education,
            — promotion of pilot action promoting awareness of the European code among young people.
                                            III. Training of the health professions
         — support to the organization of national or regional meetings to promote the 1989 European recommen-
            dations on the cancerology content of basic training programmes for health personnel,
         — support for the setting-up of three European pilot networks of medical schools, dental faculties and
            nursing schools implementing the recommendations on the cancer content of training formulated in
            1988 by the three advisory committees on training of health personnel,
         — promotion of actions in training in cancer in the framework of the specific training of general practi-
            tioners,
         — encourage the mobility between Member States of health professionals in courses of specialized training
            in cancerology,
         — collection and exchange of teaching materials of European interest for training education of health
            personnel,
 ---pagebreak--- No C 164/14                          Official Journal of the European Communities                                     1. 7. 89
          — exchanging experiences and support for the organization of European seminars for the continuing
             education of health personnel,
          — exchange of experience between Member States in anti-pain treatments, in palliative and continuing
             care, and on the role of health personnel, notably GPs and nurses, in cancer treatment.
                                                    IV. Research on cancer
          — submission of proposals for a fifth medical and health research coordination programme and the sixth
              medical ECSC research programme.
                                                           ANNEX     II
                                                 Indicative budgetary allocation
                                                                                                               (in %)
                                                                        1988            1989         1990 to 1994
                                                                                                       estimate
          Prevention                                                    40,1             40               50
          — (Fight against tobacco addiction)                            (9)            (12)             (15)
          — (Improvement of nutrition)                                   (8)            (10)             (20)
          — (Screening)                                                 (14)            (13)             (10)
          — (Other)                                                     (9,1)            (5)              (5)
          Training                                                       6,1              8                18
          Information                                                   47,4             40                15
          Health education                                               6,3              12               17