Obliterate obstacles to cancer research

Remove obstacles for cross-border research. Invest in cancer prevention. Grant cancer patients the right to be forgotten. Simplify the reimbursement rules for cancer treatments across the EU. Ban flavours in e-cigarettes, which are attractive to minors. These are some of the EPP Group priorities which made it to the final Report of Parliament’s Special Committee on Beating Cancer, which will be adopted later today.

Peter Liese MEP points to the problem that currently, there are still too many obstacles to efficient cross-border research. "It is not acceptable to hinder cancer research. We must do everything to make the lives of those who fight cancer, of scientists who want to do cross-border research, more easy. This is why the EPP Group has been fighting to remove obstacles in their cross-border work", said Liese, who negotiated the Report on behalf of the EPP Group.

"We also want the same for patients: those who want or need to go to another country for therapy, must be able to do so without additional hurdles", added Liese.

Speaking about another significant achievement of the EPP Group, granting the right to be forgotten to cancer survivors, Cindy Franssen MEP, the EPP Group's Spokeswoman on cancer, explained: "We want cancer survivors to have the right to be forgotten. Insurance companies and banks should not deny cancer survivors who have beaten the disease access to financial services, such as mortgages, or ask for additional and higher premiums. Those who survive must not be punished twice."

"We, of course, want to reduce tobacco consumption in Europe and do everything to help people quit smoking. E-cigarettes can be one tool among others but they should not be attractive to minors. To this end, we insist on a ban on flavours in e-cigarettes that attract minors in particular", concluded Liese.