16 March 2026

Ahead of their meeting in the European Council taking place on 19 and 20 March, the EU Healthy Air Coalition (EUHAC) has sent a letter to EU heads of state and government urging them to ensure that the next EU budget (known as the Multiannual Financial Framework, or MFF) will help prevent cancer and other major diseases caused by air pollution. 

The EU Healthy Air Coalition, of which the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) is a founding member, calls to speed up action to reduce and prevent air pollution emissions from all sources and to ensure sufficient and dedicated investments for the implementation of clean air legislation.

Air pollution remains 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. Setting the next EU budget up to be a driver for measures against harmful air pollution would recognise the clear global momentum for urgent clean air action.

About the EU Healthy Air Coalition:

The EU Healthy Air Coalition (EUHAC) brings together nonprofit health expert voices in the EU to advocate for better health for all through clean air. Members include the Standing Committee of European Doctors (CPME), the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL), the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients’Associations (EFA), the European Lung Foundation (ELF), the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA), the European Respiratory Society (ERS), the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) and the Independent Health Insurance Funds (Mutualités Libres).

Click here to download the letter.