On 30 September 2009 the President of the European Commission and Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou officially launched the partnership for action against cancer in Brussels.

Three million people are diagnosed with cancer every year in the EU. It is the second biggest cause of death in both men and women. The Partnership aims to draw together relevant organisations to share expertise and to identify challenges in order to reduce the number of new cancer cases in the EU by 15% by 2020.

The Partnership aims to support countries in their efforts to tackle cancer by providing a framework for identifying and sharing information, capacity and expertise in cancer prevention and control. It aims to engage a wide range of stakeholders, including non-governmental organisations, researchers, patient groups, industry and national authorities across the EU, in a collective effort and with a common commitment to addressing cancer. This partnership approach will also help avoiding scattered actions and the duplication of efforts by contributing to better use of the limited resources available. The Commission policy paper on Action against Cancer, adopted in June 2009, sets out the aims, objectives and actions of the partnership. After the launch event, preparatory meetings for the partnership are planned later in the autumn.