In its session of 28 to 29 June 1985, the European Council accepted the proposal to create a closer link between Europe and its citizens, and in this context, the Council emphasised the value of launching a European action programme against cancer. To mark the 30th anniversary of the first action on cancer, a high level event entitled “30 years of EU action against cancer”, is organised jointly by the European Commission and the Luxembourg Presidency.
As a high level event this conference offers, by combining it with the Expert Group meeting, the possibility for a reflection and discussion based on impact and on future action in the field of cancer.
The participants include the 60 members of the expert group, including ECPC President Prof Francesco De Lorenzo and Vice President Kathi Apostolidis, and around 60 invited participants (MEPs against cancer, patient groups, health professionals, and high level personalities).
Download the agenda of the event clicking here.
Prof De Lorenzo was invited to participate to the 3rd panel discussion “Conclusion and Outlook”, together with:
- F. Jankevičius, Director, University Clinic Santariskes, Vilnius
- Tit Albrecht, Institute of Public Health, Slovenia
- Martin Seychell, Deputy Director General, Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, European Commission
- Krzysztof Maruszewski, Director, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Joint Research Centre, European Commission
In his contribution, Prof De Lorenzo praised the commitment of the European Union and of the Commission in particular in the fight against cancer. Europe Against Cancer and the successive initiatives of the Commission clearly created added value of European cancer patients, but great inequalities in cancer care still exist. In his conclusions, Prof De Lorenzo’ underlined the demonstrated capacity of the Commission to play an important role in cancer control, and suggested two major lines of action for the future: ensure the implementation of EPAAC and CanCon policy recommendations and enlarge the competences of the Commission in public health through the amendment of the European Union treaties.