The Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) is the voice of national and regional cancer leagues in Europe. Since 1980, we have worked together with our powerful network of member organisations to shape the cancer control agenda and advance the fight against cancer across Europe.

We actively collaborate with international governmental bodies, EU institutions and agencies, research institutions and universities, and other civil society actors to help build a Europe free of cancer.

ECL is a proud member of several European and global non-profit organisations:

ECL is an accredited stakeholder in a wide range of global and European governmental health initiatives, offering the expertise of our member leagues on cancer-related policies and programmes.

World Health Organization (WHO)

ECL is an accredited regional non-State actor with the WHO Regional Committee for Europe.
We are an official member of several initiatives from WHO Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe):

• The WHO/Europe Access to Novel Medicines Platform
• The WHO/Europe European Health Alliance on Alcohol

EU institutions

ECL closely collaborates with and is a member of various EU stakeholder fora at the EU level:

• European Commission’s Critical Medicines Alliance
• European Commission’s HTA Stakeholder Network
• European Medicine Agency’s Patients and Consumers Working Party

ECL is proud to provide the secretariat for the MEPs Against Cancer interest group, the longest-standing group of Members of European Parliament committed to promoting ambitious EU action against cancer.

Operating Grants

ECL has been successful in securing Operating Grants from the European Commission, which supported core organisational costs such as staff, overheads, and daily operations in:

• 2014 to 2017: Three-year Framework Partnership Agreement and Operational Grant
• 2018 to 2021: Three-year Framework Partnership Agreement and Operational Grant
• 2022: One-year Operational Grant (HaDEA)
• 2023: One-year Operational Grant (HaDEA)

To learn more about our EU Operating Grants and other funding sources, please visit our transparency page.

ECL actively contributes to several EU-funded research and public health initiatives. In collaboration with over 70 partners – including cancer leagues, research institutes, public health organisations, university hospitals, and academic experts – we work to drive progress in cancer prevention and care across Europe.

By using our strong network of partners and fostering connections between researchers, policymakers, and key stakeholders, we help ensure that the findings from EU-funded projects are translated into real-world impact. Our core contributions to these projects include stakeholder engagement, policy recommendations, strategic communications, and dissemination of results.

Visit our projects hub to learn more about our EU project portfolio.