Today, February 3, 2011, ECPC collected signatures from a majority of MEPs in support of Written Declaration 80 on cancer research. Drafted by FACE Champions, it calls for more collaboration in the field of cancer research, and more translational research led by the needs of patients. The declaration has now been forwarded to the President of the European Parliament, and announced in the plenary session.

The Written Declaration was initially submitted in October 2010, and has been actively promoted by the ECPC team and FACE Champions during parliamentary sessions in Brussels and Strasbourg. Our success is also in part due to the efforts of our member organisations, who called on their local MEPs to support this initiative.

This marks a significant achievement on the part of ECPC, FACE Champions and other supporters, the culmination of months of effort. As our presence in the European

Parliament increases, we continue to establish and develop relationships with policy- and decision-makers at the European level whilst promoting cancer issues the EU is well-placed to address. This is a significant achievement as very few Written Declarations are passed.

Putting cancer research on the agenda of parliamentarians is crucial for building support and momentum for improvements in this field. While a number of European initiatives such as EUROCANPlatform, in which ECPC is involved, are developing networks and models for more collaborative and coherent research across Europe, more can be done.

ECPC, working in conjunction with FACE Champions and stakeholders across the European institutions, will strive to ensure that no potential avenue is left unexplored, and that cancer research in the EU addresses the range of needs of cancer patients with all possible variants of the disease in a way that focuses on translation into therapies, and in a way that minimises waste of resources such as money, expertise and time - all of which are immensely valuable in the cancer community.

Please find the text of the Written Declaration attached. ECPC will be developing a campaign to prompt tangible outcomes from the success of this written declaration in the context of European policy devevlopment.

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