The Digestive Health Group is a cross-party platform of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from different EU Member States, chaired by MEP Romana Jerković. The group aims to raising awareness of the need for better prevention, improved treatment and greater understanding of the causes of digestive diseases. It draws attention to the real-life impact of digestive diseases, their socio-economic burden and it fosters health literacy to strengthen the competence of citizens to manage their health.
Key topics include:
On June 5, 2025, we will organise a multi-stakeholder event at the European Parliament titled “Connecting the dots: Obesity, digestive diseases and cancers”. Hosted by MEP Romana Jerković, this event will focus on the critical link between digestive health and obesity, a growing public health challenge affecting millions across Europe.
Medical experts from UEG and the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) will present compelling evidence connecting obesity with a range of digestive diseases and cancers affecting both children and adults. Following this, a high-level panel discussion including policymakers, medical professionals and patient advocates will delve into how public health policies can more effectively address obesity and digestive health in the future.
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On April 26, 2023, we organised an event at the European Parliament that brought together digestive health experts and key stakeholders from the European health community for a lively and solution-oriented discussion on the current state of digestive health across Europe.
On this occasion, we also launched the White Book 2, a pan-European study on the burden of digestive diseases and cancers. Based on the key findings of this study, we have issued an Open letter addressed to EU leadership with six policy recommendations to create a stronger policy environment for digestive health in the EU.
Read Open Letter
Want to learn more about the key findings from the discussion? Find a summary of the event in our press release.
On May 16, the MEP Digestive Health Group convened a virtual meeting focused on the prevention of digestive cancers. The panel discussion centred around the current challenges and policy opportunities in cancer prevention and included a prominent panel of experts and policy makers.
On June 15 2021, we launched the MEP Digestive Health Group in the current legislative mandate of the European Parliament (2019-2024) with an online event hosted by Antonio Tajani, the former Chair of the group.
