A special issue of Eurohealth, the journal of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, published on 12 March, highlights the EU Mission on Cancer and its crucial role in tackling Europe's rising cancer burden. The issue presents insights from key stakeholders on advancing cancer prevention, care, and research across Europe, including a perspective on Europe's Beating Cancer Plan and how it works in tandem with Mission. Featuring diverse perspectives on overcoming challenges and strengthening policies, this edition aims to drive meaningful discussions on cancer control.

Cancer is deeply personal. It is a reality that touches families, friends, and communities across Europe. And yet, to understand and combat cancer effectively, we must also take a broader view—one that looks at populations and recognizes patterns, disparities, and progress.

This month, the European Cancer Information System (ECIS) has released its later cancer incidence figures in collaboration with the European Network of Cancer Registries (ENCR). From the ECIS data, we know that 2.7 million people have been diagnosed with cancer in the year 2022 in the EU. These numbers are more than data points; they tell the story of millions of lives affected by cancer and highlight the need for action to better control cancer and reduce inequalities.

February 2025 available

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The Trump administration's dismantling of USAID threatens the international system for forecasting and tracking extreme hunger. That could lead to deadlier famines.

Biogas is a mixture of methane, CO2 and small quantities of other gases produced by anaerobic digestion of organic matter in an oxygen-free environment. The precise composition of biogas depends on the type of feedstock and the production pathway.

Europe’s leading environmental conference will take place in Brussels from 3-5 June. This year’s Green Week will unpack the “three Cs” - Clean, Competitive & Circular – exploring how to put circularity at the centre of our economic transition. The conference will enable knowledge sharing, alliance building, and raising awareness about the potential of a circular economy.

The Commission has launched a new Biotech and Biomanufacturing Hub to support companies – particularly start-ups and SMEs - in bringing innovative products to the EU market and increase their competitiveness. The Hub will also help companies identify the support available to them at EU level and how to access this support to help them to expand and grow.

The Commission has presented its roadmap for a thriving EU farming and agri-food sector, fostering trust and dialogue across the entire value chain within the EU and globally. Recognising the essential role of farmers, the Vision seeks to boost the agri-food sector’s competitiveness and attractiveness. It acknowledges the key role of the bioeconomy to reduce critical dependencies, stressing that innovative bio-based and circular solutions can give complementary incentives and rewards to farmers.

The Clean Industrial Deal mobilises EUR 100 billons in different areas that are fundamental to accelerate the decarbonisation of the European industries. The plan aims at lowering energy prices, creating quality jobs and the right conditions for companies to thrive, including mandating the use of new raw material sources like recycled and bio-based materials and laying down priorities for manufacturing and using bio-based materials, and for retaining them as long as possible in the economy.

In January 2025, the Commission presented the Competitiveness Compass, a new roadmap to restore Europe’s dynamism and boost our economic growth. The Compass highlights the role that the upcoming EU Bioeconomy Strategy and Biotech Act will play: the first will enable a significant growth in bio-based materials, biomanufacturing, biochemicals, and agri-biotech sectors, reducing strategic dependencies and giving opportunities to rural areas; the second will drive innovation and leverage the potential that biotechnologies can bring to EU economy.

The new section of the Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy’s web platform provides users with an easy to navigate selection of publications and visual contents with a focus on different bioeconomy related aspects. This “key resources” section gives access to policy briefs as well as to scientific reports, data visualisations and videos which have been produced by the Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy from 2018 onwards, including the full collection of newsletters.

Combining a fish stock model with a global agriculture and food market model, this research analyses scenarios involving a continuation of current fishing trends versus optimal management through maximum sustainable yield targets. It reveals that maximum sustainable yield management of overfished stocks could increase yields by 10.6 Megatons, alleviating the need for aquaculture expansion, as well as meat and feed demand. Lower food prices and additional supply could enhance global food security. Conversely, continued overfishing will likely lead to lower catches over time, adding pressure to the agricultural and aquaculture sectors.

The Nature Restoration Regulation aims to increase soil organic carbon (SOC) stock trends in the top 30 cm of cropland mineral soils. This paper investigates the feasibility of an annual SOC stock increase of 4 ‰ in European croplands, through estimations of required C input changes. The authors propose a novel calibration approach, which improves the accuracy of SOC stock predictions. The results reveal that significant carbon input changes are required to reach the 4 ‰ target, exceeding predicted net primary productivity changes.

The JRC has launched the Farming Practices Evidence Library, a comprehensive dataset that compiles scientific insights on the environmental and climate effects of different farming methods. Accompanied by a user-friendly dashboard, this tool provides accessible, science-based evidence for policymakers, farmers, and researchers.

This paper defines an EU food system sustainability model that provides a conceptual framework for monitoring. This model encompasses 12 thematic areas and 37 indicator domains, synthetised through a rigorous review of existing frameworks and the assessment of nearly 250 relevant indicators via a transparent workflow and an integrated collaborative digital tool. It identifies data gaps that signal challenges ahead in effective monitoring, but also opportunities for research and cooperation.

This JRC report provides a comprehensive assessment of progress towards the European Green Deal. The analysis encompasses 154 quantifiable targets from 44 key policy documents between 2019 and 2024. It reveals that 32 targets are well on track to be met, 64 need acceleration, 15 are stagnating or even regressing. For the remaining 43, there is no available data. The report concludes that the EU is on the right path to progress on the Green Deal: most policies and supporting tools are in place and starting to deliver results, although more action is essential to achieve the targets in some areas.

The EC’s Knowledge Centre for Bioeconomy has carried out an assessment of the European bio-based textiles sector. The work illustrates how complex and broad the sector is, focusing on challenges, opportunities and knowledge gaps for different fibre types. It highlights how improved logistics and decreasing costs could make biosynthetic fibres more competitive, showing promising progress in the production of viscose and lyocell from sustainable cellulose sources, as well as potential developments in the processing of natural fibres.

The Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and the The Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) alongside the Agroecology Consortium, EC-Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC) and the EC Directorate General’s Department for International Partnerships (DG INTPA) have launched the Regional Multi-actor Research Network (RMRN) Consortium on Agroecology to support the Regional Centres of Excellence (RCoEs) related to Green Transition, as part of the FARA and RUFORUM component on agroecology.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has assumed joint custodianship with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) of a new Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator regarding M