20 January 2026

 

Today, an overwhelming majority of the European Parliament voted to adopt an ambitious negotiating position on the Critical Medicines Act, supporting patients’ rights to timely and affordable access to life-saving cancer drugs across the EU.  

 

The Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) welcomes the vote, which saw 503 politicians voting in favour, 57 voting against, and 108 abstaining. The adopted position closely mirrors the draft text prepared by the European Parliament’s health committee in December 2025.  

 

“Cancer patients across Europe still face unacceptable delays, high costs and clear inequalities across borders when trying to access life-saving treatments. By backing stronger rules on joint procurement, contingency stock, and national stockpiling requirements through the Critical Medicines Act, the European Parliament has taken an important step to prevent shortages and reduce costs for patients,” says Toma Mikalauskaite, Policy Lead at the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL).  

 

64 cancer drugs were classified as critical by the European Commission and European Medicines Agency in 2025. Disruptions or delays in the supply of these drugs can have serious and immediate consequences on patients’ lives.  

 

The European Parliament position improves the European Commission’s proposal put forward in March 2025. While the Commission’s proposal did not include a clear EU-wide stockpiling strategy, the Parliament added provisions to harmonise contingency stocks and national stockpiling requirements by obliging the Commission to issue guidelines recommending establishing common standards. The Parliament’s position also calls for an EU-level mechanism to monitor the availability and distribution of critical medicines across the EU and enable their effective and equitable redistribution in the case of a shortage or supply disruption.  

 

Importantly, the European Parliament position strengthens the Commission’s plans for more systematic joint procurement of medicines, a long-standing demand from European cancer societies. By further institutionalising joint procurement at the EU level, the Critical Medicines Act can help prevent shortages and lower prices for all member states, ensuring fairer access for all patients.  

 

Following today’s vote, negotiations between the European Commission, Parliament and Council of the EU can begin. European cancer leagues call on all EU institutions to maintain a high level of ambition to protect patients’ rights and move forward with the next steps of the legislative process without delay.