European Union

A cross-party delegation of German MPs travelled to Lithuania on Thursday in a show of “solidarity” towards the “excessive” trade barriers China imposes on the country. The announcement came just ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics which are set to...

Budapest welcomes international observers for the April parliamentary elections but deplores EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders comments about it, a Hungarian government’s spokesperson said on Thursday. “We welcome all observers, and we classify the Commissioner’s statement as a political expression...

The government on Thursday approved a controversial labour market reform by a margin of only one vote after a tense debate in parliament. With 175 votes in favour and 174 against, the text, which entered into force in December 2021,...

Support for the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) – currently in opposition – is growing, making them the most popular party among the electorate, a new survey conducted in January shows. Support for EKRE has grown to 24%, with...

After Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki unexpectedly arrived in Prague to sign a deal on the Turów coal mine on Thursday, the Czech government praised the long-awaited agreement but law experts and green NGOs warn against a bad deal. The...

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers proposed matching bills in the Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday (3 February) that would require the United States to negotiate the renaming of Taiwan's de facto embassy in Washington as the "Taiwan Representative Office," a move certain to anger China.

The Council renewed the EU terrorist list setting out persons, groups and entities subject to restrictive measures with a view to combating terrorism for a further six months, and delisted one person.

The European Union warned on Thursday (3 February) that it will take further action should members of the military regime in Mali obstruct the transition back to democracy.

Major industry players, from tech companies to carmakers, are preparing to push back against the Commission’s proposal for the new data law, according to a draft letter seen by EURACTIV.

The Russian foreign ministry announced on Thursday (3 February) that German broadcaster Deutsche Welle's correspondent office in Moscow will be closed down to retaliate against the ban of Russia Today’s broadcasting service by German authorities.

Written by Laurence Amand-Eeckhout.

Held every 4 February since 2000, World Cancer Day aims at raising worldwide awareness of the action needed to fight cancer. With over 100 million Europeans expected to be diagnosed with cancer in the next 25 years, Parliament is expected to debate the final report of its Special Committee on Beating Cancer during the February plenary session, and vote on a series of recommendations calling for specific policy measures in this crucial area of public health.

Background

In June 2020, the European Parliament approved the establishment of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA). BECA held a series of public hearings with high-level experts, set up an exchange of views with national parliaments and international organisations, and conducted a public consultation, running from February to March 2021, on the impact of the pandemic on cancer care and research. In November 2021, a BECA delegation travelled to the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva (Switzerland), and then to Lyon (France) to meet experts, researchers and healthcare professionals at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and at CLARA, an oncology and cancer research cluster with a European dimension looking to accelerate research and innovation in the specific area of childhood, adolescent and rare cancers. BECA used its mandate to focus on ways to strengthen cancer prevention and control in health systems, examine the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the continuity of cancer care delivery, assess the need to address inequalities in cancer prevention and care across the EU and highlight the importance of the availability of quality data and evidence to underpin health policies.

EU action against cancer

As far back as 1985, the EU has been fighting cancer and investing in cancer research, even though responsibility for health policies lies primarily with the Member States (Article 168 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union). Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the EU, after heart disease. In February 2021, the European Commission adopted the ‘Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan‘ to address cancer-related inequalities and help improve prevention and care. This plan forms part of the Commission’s proposals for a strong European health union.

European Parliament position

On 9 December 2021, BECA adopted its final report on ‘strengthening Europe in the fight against cancer – towards a comprehensive and coordinated strategy’. The report’s main recommendations include taking stronger EU action to address the key risk factors of cancer (including alcohol and tobacco consumption), extending screening schemes and launching an EU platform for national screening centres, facilitating cancer patients’ access to cross-border health care and clinical trials, and developing European multi-centre clinical trials. The report also advocates extending the use of joint procurement procedures to manage cancer medicine shortages, and guaranteeing cancer survivors the ‘right to be forgotten’, so as to prevent discrimination and improve access to financial services. Calling for transparency throughout the pharmaceutical system (fair pricing and affordability) and equal access to innovative cancer treatments, the report notes that a holistic approach and multidisciplinary cancer research are fundamental to securing improvements in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care for survivors. Finally, the report advocates increased funding for research into the causes of cancer, action to boost the efficiency of preventive measures, more research into paediatric and rare cancers, and additional funding for the European Reference Networks, and their integration into national health systems, while also building up the Knowledge Centre on Cancer.

Own-initiative report: 2020/2267(INI); Committee responsible: BECA; Rapporteur: Véronique Trillet-Lenoir (Renew Europe, France).

When Vladimir Putin meets counterpart Xi Xinping as China’s most important Winter Olympics guest, the two will sign at least 15 agreements, including several on natural gas and others on bolstering the two economies to resist financial sanctions.

The new prime minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovachevski, is making his first visit to Brussels on 3 and 4 February. In view of Skopje's stalled EU accession bid, this could mean a groundbreaking visit, but it probably won't be. What can we realistically expect from it?

The Greens in the European Parliament are trying to mobilise other parliamentarians to reject the Commission's delegated act on the green taxonomy that gives nuclear and gas a "green" label. EURACTIV France reports.

A flaw in Apple's software exploited by Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group to break into iPhones in 2021 was simultaneously abused by a competing company, according to five people familiar with the matter.

North Africa's last remaining democracy following 2010's Arab Spring, Tunisia, is facing an existential political and constitutional crisis, six months after the country’s president suspended parliament and announced he would govern by decree.

This week, our Beyond the Byline podcast focuses on Viktor Orbán’s visit to Moscow amid Russia's tensions with the EU and the West in general.

Gas flows from Germany to Poland resumed on Wednesday evening (2 February) via the Russian Yamal-Europe pipeline, which usually sends Russian gas westwards into Europe, data from German network operator Gascade showed.

Over the last century, the amount of methane in the atmosphere has more than doubled. A rapid, large-scale effort to tackle its emissions could slow global warming by 30%. Last year, the EU played a major role in launching the...

The Northern Ireland government’s decision to unilaterally suspend a key part of the Northern Ireland protocol brought a swift backlash from the European Commission on Thursday (3 February), which accused it of breaking international law.