[UPDATE: The European Commission has announced it will extend the deadline for this public consultation to May 21] 

The European Commission has launched a EU-wide public consultation on its proposed plan for beating cancer, the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. The consultation is open until 7 May 2020. It is aimed at individual citizens, patients and carers replying in their personal capacity, as well as health professionals and organisations involved in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care and research.

Every year, 3.5 million people in the European Union are diagnosed with cancer. Scientific evidence has linked exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to spiralling rates of hormone-related cancers such as breast or testicular cancer, as well as other health conditions such as fertility problems, diabetes, obesity, learning and behavioural problems in children.

Health and cancer prevention societies across Europe have already taken the opportunity to comment on the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. The Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL), for example, outlined its recommendations on what action the EU can take towards providing better cancer control, improved cancer care and tackling inequalities throughout Europe. It is calling on the European Commission to protect citizens from harmful exposure to carcinogens in the environment. The ECL position paper stresses the importance for the EC to develop tangible and effective guidance and legislation to reduce citizens’ exposure to carcinogenic substances, including by:

  • “Ensuring the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) strives to reduce intake of pesticide residues and revise food contact materials legislation to ensure carcinogens and endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) associated with increased cancer risk are eliminated;


  • Ensuring Europe’s Beating Cancer plan is closely linked to a comprehensive EU Chemical Strategy for Sustainability and other chemical policy frameworks to rationalise and simplify the EU’s chemical and pesticide regulations for substances causing cancer as well as the swift preparation of the long-overdue non-toxic environment strategy, and action to detoxify the circular economy.”

EDC-Free Europe campaign partners and supporters also contributed to the consultation on the roadmap for the Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, that closed on 3 March 2020.

Contributions from EDC-Free Europe coalition members include:

Other noteworthy contributions include: