Interview with MEP Sara Cerdas (S&D)

Roma, 31 mag. – For the latest episode of its interview series ‘EU Verified’, Askanews was excited to sit down with Portuguese MEP Sara Cerdas of the European Parliament Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI). A member of the Socialist and Democrats Group, MEP Cerdas was also Vice-Chair of the Special Committee on Beating Cancer (BECA) and is a member of the newly established Special Committee on the COVID-19 pandemic (COVI).

MEP Cerdas has closely followed the drafting of Europe’s Beating Cancer plan since it was first announced by the Commission in February 2020. In the interview, she recaps the progress made on the Plan and the BECA report to date, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. Looking ahead to the Plan’s implementation phase, she says that one of the main challenges that legislators will face is living up to the plan’s all-encompassing, holistic approach to public health, rather than simply focusing on the provision of healthcare.

Our discussion underlines the importance of a tailored approach to each population group rather than a ‘one size fits all’ model for reducing smoking rates, for example, and also points to how the pandemic and global vaccine drive have accentuated the importance of public healthcare messaging.
Looking to the future of European health policy, she also discussed the crucial work that can be done by the ENVI Committee in building on what the BECA Committee has achieved by aligning Europe’s fight against cancer with its other public health objectives.

‘EU Verified’ offers a platform for in-depth discussions with policymakers involved in drafting and implementing one of the most ambitious policies the EU has ever formulated in the health arena, Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. Our interviewees have been carefully selected to give a voice to all those involved in the discussions and to ensure the EU ethos is upheld in the form of transparency and openness.

Please find the full text of the interview in English.