9 July 2025
The EU Healthy Air Coalition (EUHAC), of which the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) is a founding member, calls on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ensure that the next EU budget will help the EU substantially advance towards clean air and the prevention of cancer and other major diseases caused by air pollution.
To safeguard the Union’s security, equitable prosperity and wellbeing, ending harmful subsidies and providing ambitious and dedicated investments for clean air measures need to be firmly anchored in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) as top priorities.
There’s an urgency to act to protect health from air pollution, the top environmental risk to health in Europe, resulting in hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and hundreds of billions of euros of costs annually. The large body of evidence demonstrates thatair pollution is a key cause for all major non-communicable diseases, including lung cancer.
Everyone is vulnerable to harm caused by air pollution. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA) latest figures, the vast majority (94%) of the EU urban population remains exposed to PM2.5 concentrations above the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline level. The major driver for poor air quality in the EU is the burning of fossil fuels.
The EU Healthy Air Coalition (EUHAC) brings together non-profit health expert voices in the EU to advocate for better health for all through clean air. Our founding members are Brussels-based organisations representing diverse constituencies of the health sector, including doctors and other health care professionals, scientists,public health experts and groups, respiratory or cancer patients and health insurance funds.