Debate: Strengthening Europe in the fight against cancer
Date: TUESDAY, 15 FEBRUARY 2022
Speaker: Stella Kyriakides
Language: EN

Honourable Members, ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank you for your valuable interventions. I really noted as many as I could. I am sure I will leave some behind or out, but not because they were not important. I want to look at the different topics raised. First of all, the importance raised in this report on research. This was raised by MEPs Liese, Gamon and Pereira, and they’re absolutely correct. And I want to assure you that the Horizon Mission is already part of our process, and we have recently launched the first calls. Many of you mentioned the importance of prevention – MEPs Ripa, Fritzon, Metz. I just wanted to say here that we know that 40% of all cancers in the EU can be prevented, and this is one of our most important pillars. And MEP Dorfmann, you are so right: we cannot push it aside. We cannot ignore that cancer is there. We need to work on prevention. MEPs Ries, Ştefănuță, Ijabs, Kopcińska, Solís Pérez, Toia and many others have mentioned the importance of inequalities, the impact of late diagnosis. And this is why we have set up an inequalities register to guide investment and support where we need it most, and we will continue to work in this way. MEPs Ripa, Hojsík and Niebler talked on healthy lifestyles, on the importance of consumer information. We will be updating the European code against cancer. We need to do more on this. MEP Mélin, you spoke of the need to have a budget. Well we have an unprecedented EUR 4 billion available to us that we will be using. There was a mention on tobacco by MEP Fiocchi, and I just wanted to say here that tobacco is still the single largest avoidable health risk. This is why we approach it in our cancer plan. MEP Georgiou, you’re absolutely right that we need to take action and that action needs to be together and we need to implement what we do. The right to be forgotten – Véronique, I know that this is so close to your heart and to so many others – and MEP Cerdas, MEPs Clune, Toia, Franssen have raised this, and we are looking at this in Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and we will be coming forward with a report on this very shortly. MEP Moretti said, we are bringing an entire process to a conclusion. In one way I would say yes, but hearing this, I was thinking in a different way. You are right at the beginning of opening another one – one of adoption and one of implementation. MEPs Kopacz, Metz, Glavak and others spoke about the affordability and access to medicines, and this is one of the key objectives of the European Commission’s pharmaceutical strategy. And this, I think, is going to be very important in really looking at issues to do with affordability and inequality of access.  MEPs Montserrat, Ilčić and Konečná spoke of the impact of COVID-19. We know that an estimated 100 million cases may have not been diagnosed in the last two years, and 100 million cancer screening tests may have been postponed or not carried out. And this has an important impact on patients and their families. And in our plan, we are addressing this. We are looking at how telemedicine can be used and we need to have contingency plans for the future. On alcohol, several MEPs mentioned this. Now, Europe has the highest level of alcohol consumption in the world, and alcohol can cause several types of cancer, and that is why we have included a clear target in the Commission’s cancer plan to achieve a relative reduction of at least 10% of harmful use of alcohol by 2025, also supported by WHO. Citizens are often not aware of the risks. There is no intention whatsoever to target any gastronomic cultures, and our work will be based on science. Many of you mentioned that cancer is a word that brings the thought of someone who died or is now being diagnosed. But I believe that this report and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is also a plan and a report that can make this a work of hope. I hope that we can do something. Let’s not demonise cancer, let’s do something about it. MEPs Georgoulis, Pavlova and Sokol, you have spoken of the importance of this report and the level of ambition, and we share this with you. MEP Fourlas and MEP Vautmans spoke of paediatric cancers and said that tomorrow, once this report is voted, it will be a great day. But even more important is its implementation, and we will be partners in this as a Commission, as we have a strong commitment to change the realities of cancer and, as MEP Rafalska also said, to also looking at how we can reduce risks in the workplace. And last but not least, rare cancers and paediatric cancers raised by many of you: children have the right to the best possible diagnosis and treatment. The European reference networks – our comprehensive cancer networks – are evidence that we’re giving a priority to this and to paediatric cancers. So in ending, honourable ladies and gentlemen, I want to congratulate you. I want to congratulate you on the important work of this report. I want to congratulate you, on behalf of the Commission, on the support of our Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. We are putting in place the necessary building blocks to ensure that this plan is implemented effectively. We have an implementation roadmap to which we are accountable so that we are able to have real delivery and tangible results. But your constructive and ambitious report is really such an important contribution to this effort, and I can assure you it will guide and inform our work. We will continue to work closely with you in order to be implementing this plan, and I am truly convinced that, when we work together, as we have shown on so many areas that we can, we can achieve our goals – goals that we need to do for citizens, for patients, for their families, for their support network and their colleagues, for our health systems and for our societies.