The European Parliament established a Special Parliamentary Committee, whose goals include raising awareness of the importance of cancer prevention and timely medical examinations among EU citizens, as well as applying the same health standards in all member states, said the office of Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol in a press release.
A special committee in the European Parliament was established last week through a joint initiative of the chairman of the European People's Party (EPP) group in the EP, Manfred Weber, European Parliament Vice-President Ewa Kopacz, the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee coordinator Peter Liese, as well as individual EPP MEPs, such as Croatia's Tomislav Sokol, who has been advocating for a more prominent role of the EU in strengthening national health systems, it was stated in the press release issued on 21 January.
Every year more than 9 million people die from cancer. There is not one member state that is not affected by the disease, which is why MEPs agree that the time has come for a joint fight against the too often deadly disease.
In a statement given on the occasion of the official decision on establishing the Special Committee, Manfred Weber pointed out that this was the first step in the joint fight against the disease which could afflict literally any one of us.
“If we combine our research, our resources and our experience, the European Union can beat cancer. Experts are telling us it is possible. That is why we fought for a Special Committee in the European Parliament to guide and push for a genuinely European masterplan against cancer,” Chairman Manfred Weber was quoted as saying.
One of the committee's founders, Ewa Kopacz was quoted as saying that “together we can create a European plan for fighting cancer, a European strategy for oncological prevention and a European strategy for early detection. With this Special Committee, we want to give a new impetus to oncological research and I am proud to be among its initiators.”
The establishment of the Special Committee is part of a wider campaign by the EPP Group to mobilise all possible support and resources in Europe in the fight against cancer:
The establishment of the Committee was also supported by MEP Sokol, who has raised questions about the health sector and insisted on applying the same health standards in all member states from the beginning of his term, stated the office of MEP Sokol.
“The EU must deal with issues which are important to its citizens, and solve problems they encounter on a daily basis. Nothing is more important than health. Cancer affects everyone equally, it does not choose according to nationality or descent, however, chances for recovery are not equal in all member states. It is time that the differences are minimized, and that we take the initiative in cancer treatment. We must offer new hope to those who are already diagnosed, as well as provide for the possibility of early detection and successful treatment to those who will, unfortunately, be diagnosed in the future,” said Sokol.
