Today, the European Commission has launched a targeted consultation on fair access to financial services for cancer survivors. The aim is to ensure that, after a defined period following the end of active treatment, a past cancer diagnosis can no longer be used when setting the price or conditions of access to a financial service, such as life and health insurance or mortgages.
Recent progress in science and medicine is delivering better diagnosis and treatment outcomes for cancer patients. Survival rates have increased markedly over the past twenty years. Yet, people with a history of cancer can still face specific obstacles in accessing financial services, even years after the end of their treatment.
Europe’s beating cancer plan, adopted in 2021, has played a crucial role in placing the right to be forgotten high on the agenda. At present, right to be forgotten protection is still not available in all Member States. Under the cancer plan, the Commission brought cancer organisations, the medical community and the insurance sector together and supported work on an EU code of conduct on the right to be forgotten. While agreement has not yet been reached, this work has helped to advance the discussion at European level. Building on this work, the Commission is launching today a public consultation aimed at gathering practical insights on how to implement an effective right to be forgotten approach in EU Member States.
All EU and national stakeholders, including cancer survivors and representative organisations, the medical community, and the insurance and banking sectors, are invited to contribute. The consultation is open until 27 October. Stakeholders’ feedback will inform the Commission’s next steps on the right to be forgotten.
