The COVI workshop on Long Covid: a brief summary

On 9 March, a workshop on Long Covid was held in the European parliament. Various invited experts and Members of Parliament highlighted a link between ME/CFS and Long Covid. In February, the European Parliament’s Special Committee on COVID-19 (the COVI Committee) published a draft report on lessons learned from the pandemic and recommendations for theContinue reading “The COVI workshop on Long Covid: a brief summary”

The scoping study has finally been published

The long-awaited scoping study has finally been published. This document defines “high-burden under-researched medical conditions” that will be targeted in future calls of the Horizon Europe research program. ME/CFS made the list but so did a lot of other medical conditions. This article provides a brief overview of the main results. Background and introduction TheContinue reading “The scoping study has finally been published”

Horizon Europe calls 2023-2024

On 6 December 2022, the European Commission approved the second work program of Horizon Europe for the years 2023-2024. In this article, we highlight several grants that may be relevant for scientists studying myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). Introduction: what is Horizon Europe? Horizon Europe is the big research and innovation program of the EuropeanContinue reading “Horizon Europe calls 2023-2024”

A new response from the EU Commission

In February 2022, a group of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) headed by Pascal Arimont wrote several letters on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) to the European Commission. This article provides an overview of the Commission’s response to these letters. The MEPs, who form the parliamentary interest group for ME/CFS, highlighted the lack ofContinue reading “A new response from the EU Commission”

Parliamentary interest group for ME/CFS writes to European Commission

The European parliamentary interest group on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) has written two letters to the European Commission. One was addressed to Stella Kyriakides, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. The other was sent to the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE). Both letters highlight the lack of action taken afterContinue reading “Parliamentary interest group for ME/CFS writes to European Commission”

A parliamentary interest group for ME/CFS

On 28 January 2022, the first meeting of a new parliamentary interest group on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) was held. Organized by Pascal Arimont, the group will allow for a more structured collaboration on topics concerning the illness ME/CFS in the European Parliament. The meeting brought together patient representatives, Members of the European ParliamentContinue reading “A parliamentary interest group for ME/CFS”

Summary of the PETI meeting on the ME/CFS petition

On 1 December 2021, the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament (PETI) held a second discussion of petition 0204/2019 on biomedical research on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). A full recording of the meeting can be found below. Evelien’s speech The Vice-Chair of the Committee on Petitions, Tatjana Ždanoka, opened the discussion. She introducedContinue reading “Summary of the PETI meeting on the ME/CFS petition”

Renewed discussion of the EU petition

The Committee on Petitions plans to discuss the progress of petition 0204/2019 on funding for research on myalgic encephalomyelitis. EMEC member Evelien Van Den Brink will give a short speech during the meeting. The meeting is planned to take place in Brussels on 1 December 2021. The petition on myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) isContinue reading “Renewed discussion of the EU petition”

Horizon Europe calls 2021-2022

On 15 June, the European Commission approved the first work program of Horizon Europe for the years 2021-2022. In this article, we highlight several grants that may be relevant for scientists studying myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). We hope that our advocacy efforts will lead to better funding opportunities for ME/CFS research in future workContinue reading “Horizon Europe calls 2021-2022”

Scoping study

There is progress at the European level, but things are moving slowly. The European Commission plans to issue a scoping study that will include ME/CFS. Below, you can read an update on our work to get ME/CFS research funded through Horizon Europe, the 95 billion euro research program of the European Union. Representatives of theContinue reading “Scoping study”