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”

The European call on ME/CFS: an overview and what follows next

More than 2 years after the adoption of the ME/CFS resolution, the European Commission has finally taken an initiative to support research on ME/CFS. The Horizon Europe work program 2023-2024 includes a call on “tackling high-burden for patients, under-researched medical conditions.” This call gives ME/CFS researchers improved opportunities to compete for a big European grantContinue reading “The European call on ME/CFS: an overview and what follows next”

Press release: EU supports research on poorly understood diseases

Thanks to the dedicated work of Belgian Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Pascal Arimont and colleagues, Horizon Europe will provide new funding opportunities for research on high-burden, under-researched diseases. While modern medicine has produced many spectacular breakthroughs, some diseases remain poorly understood to this day. These illnesses often cause chronic pain and debilitating fatigueContinue reading “Press release: EU supports research on poorly understood diseases”

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”