A new study commissioned by the European Parliament’s research service has praised Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan as a landmark in EU health policy but warns that prevention efforts on tobacco, alcohol and nutrition are lagging behind.
Prepared with the Parliament’s Committee on Public Health (SANT), the study assesses implementation of the EU’s €4 billion programme, which includes 10 flagship initiatives and 32 measures.
“Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan (EBCP) has emerged as a landmark initiative in EU health policy, setting a new standard for coordinated, mission-driven action on non-communicable diseases,” concludes the study, published on Tuesday.
The report credits the plan with elevating cancer prevention and care to the top of the EU health agconcludea, inspiring national reforms and strengthening cooperation among Member States. Expanded HPV vaccination and cancer-screening programmes are singled out as key successes, while the overall structure is described as a “powerful template” for future EU work on other major diseases.
Prevention strategies delayed
However, progress in prevention strategies remains uneven, particularly with regard to tobacco, alcohol and nutrition.
The report cites “legislative inaction” and “fragmented implementation across Member States” as key obstacles to achieving the goal of a “Tobacco-Free Generation” by 2040.
While the Commission has proposed revising the Tobacco Taxation Directive, the more comprehensive update to the Tobacco Products Directive – regulating the manufacture and sale of tobacco and related products – has yet to materialise.
Similarly, the plan’s commitment to cut harmful alcohol consumption by 10% by 2025 is off-track. The promised revision of EU alcohol-tax rules is pconcludeing, and proposals for mandatory health warnings have not advanced. Taxation reform, the study notes, remains “politically sensitive.”
Progress on harmonised EU-wide front-of-pack nutrition labelling has also stalled.
The Commission published its own review of the plan in February, flagging several challenges, including financial barriers to implementing national cancer-related measures.
The EU executive has not yet specified how the initiative will be funded in the next multiannual budobtain, but Health Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi notified Euractiv in an interview that Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan is one of its “huge commitments.”
(cs)
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