By Martha Moss - 29th September 2010
Our colleagues will be champions for different cancers
Mac president Alojz Peterle
MEPs have called on the European institutions to work with stakeholder organisations to reduce cancer rates across the EU.
Speaking on Wednesday at the inaugural meeting of the MEPs against cancer (Mac) group for this legislative session, its vice-president Liz Lynne said the European code of cancer should be rolled out across all member states.
"It's so important that we keep up the pressure on member states to make sure that code is adhered to," said Lynne, a UK ALDE deputy and vice chair of parliament's employment and social affairs committee.
The Mac group in the 2005-2009 legislature aimed to share best practice and discuss what could be done to tackle cancer at EU level, Lynne said.
"We don't have a competence in health at European level - neither should we have," Lynne added.
Highlighting the situation in the UK - which has more screeningprogrammes but worse outcomes than other countries - she warned thatmember states must not "work in isolation" when it comes to sharingresearch.
"We can learn from each and every member state," she said. "Some member states have better outcomes on cancer than others. I'd like to know why."
According to Lynne, some €750m was channelled into cancer projects under the EU's research framework programmes FP6 and FP7.
"I'd like to know what is actually happening about disseminating that information more widely," she said.
Mac president Alojz Peterle said the aims of the group were the same as when it launched six years ago, but that this time there would be a stronger focus on prevention.
"We will try to do everything in our endeavours as co-legislators," said the Slovenian EPP deputy. "Our colleagues will be champions for different cancers.
"We as a group will be trying to coordinate our efforts in parliament - but not only in the parliament.
"The new focus we agreed upon is prevention in line with the European partnership against cancer. We wish to do our best in the parliament but know that health is a member state competence.
"The added value we can have is by organising political partnerships in the member states."
The event came after Czech deputy Pavel Poc presented a written declaration on colorectal cancer to the European parliament on 20 September.
Writing in the latest issue of the Parliament Magazine, Poc said the declaration had aimed to "strengthen the still noncommittal European provisions" on the disease.
"On the grounds of broad measures against cancer, we need a focal point on fighting colorectal cancer," he wrote.
Also speaking at the event on behalf of the European Cancer League, Cora Honing said the organisation - which will act as the secretariat of the new Mac group - would work with MEPs to raise awareness of cancer issues.
Honing, who now works for the Dutch Cancer Society, said the league would "work in full collaboration with MEPs to help bring cancer-related issues to the forefront of the European parliament's priorities".
While national cancer control plans could help reduce mortality rates, she warned that "sometimes the organisational skills, political will or resources are lacking".
MEPs can help by enabling constituents "to get better care on their doorsteps", she added.
Paola Testori Coggi, the director general of DG Sanco, told participants that the commission's European partnership on action against cancer aimed to encourage organisations and public bodies involved in tackling the disease to share information.
Coggi spoke of the "crucial role" of MEPs "in boosting political interest at EU level".
And she set out the key priorities of the partnership, which has the ambitious objective of reducing cancer rates by 15 per cent by 2020, involves 50 stakeholders and is jointly financed by the commission and member states.
Among these were plans to ensure investment in prevention, including improving screening and lifestyle determinants, she said.
Other priorities include the exchange of information, data collection and more focus on research.
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