Europe is on the brink of cancer breakthroughs but planned EU budget cuts throw that progress into jeopardy

12 October, Brussels – Each year, 2.7 million people in the EU are diagnosed with cancer, and 1.3 million lose their lives to it. Five years ago, the EU responded by launching its Cancer Mission and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. Since then, it has backed an array of pan-European projects with the power to reshape cancer care and control. Among them:

• IMPACT – testing a new way to give chemotherapy as a fine mist, sprayed straight into the abdomen or chest, to reach cancers that have spread to the linings of these areas and are notoriously hard to treat.                    
• YARN – the largest multi-stakeholder experience-driven effort, it establishes the first Youth Cancer Council of 100 members and ACE Academy to train future patient advocates.
• EUonQoL – building the European Oncology Quality of Life Toolkit, which measures how people live with and beyond cancer, so health policies can be judged by what matters most to patients.

There are so many such projects showing real progress. But that progress is now in jeopardy. The funding that made all this possible could soon be cut short.

New proposals published by the Irish Presidency of the EU on Saturday 10 October suggest major cuts to both the budget of the Horizon Europe research programme and the health component of the new EU Competitiveness Fund. Additionally, there remain no written political commitments to maintain Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the EU Research Mission on Cancer in the next EU budget period 2028-34.

The newly published ‘negotiating box’ on the EU budget proposes a 36bn euro cut, with research and health taking the significant hits. 15bn and 3bn euro reductions, respectively, raise further fears that Europe’s oncology science excellence will not be protected by EU budget makers.

The EU Cancer Mission and Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan are supported through the EU's long-term budget, the Multiannual Financial Framework. For the next budget, covering 2028 to 2034, the political winds have shifted towards newer priorities – competitiveness and defence. That means some cancer projects may never continue beyond their current grants, losing the chance to reach their full potential. Others could stop before they finish. And many more life-saving ideas may never begin at all.

At a time when the European Parliament and civil society have been calling for health to remain a clear priority in the next EU budget, the newly adopted position of the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union sends a concerning signal. The absence of ring-fencing for health budgets, combined with a further reduction in Horizon Europe funding of almost 10%, risks putting this progress further at risk.

Isabel Rubio, President, European Cancer Organisation, said: ‘The progress we’ve achieved so far in research and innovation is directly related to EU cooperation and funding. Yet the Irish Presidency’s proposal to cut an additional €15 billion from Horizon Europe in the next EU budget for 2028-2034, while still leaving health research without dedicated funding, risks undermining this progress. As Europe strives to reboot its competitiveness, devaluing oncology science is a perverse approach. We call on budget makers to see sense. Major future breakthroughs in cancer science can be led by Europe, but it needs the funding support to make that happen.’