RESOURCES

As of December 2024, nine Member States have taken legal measures to counter financial discrimination against cancer survivors. France was the first to act on the matter and passed a law on the Right to be Forgotten for cancer survivors in January 2016, Belgium followed suit in 2020. From January 2021, the Netherlands adopted the ‘clean-slate policy’, implementing the Right to be Forgotten, with the Portuguese policymakers adopting the law in January 2022. Romania passed a similar law in July 2022, making it a pioneering country in the CEE region. The most recent EU countries which adopted the law are Spain (July 2023), Cyprus (November 2023), Italy (December 2023), Slovenia (November 2024) and Malta (March 2026). 

Adopted legislative pieces vary depending on the implementing country, rendering it challenging to develop an EU-wide definition of the right to be forgotten. The common point, however, remains the same: to protect cancer survivors against financial discrimination, after a specific period has passed.

For individuals who were diagnosed with cancer as adults, the situation is as follows: adults’ medical history would be forgotten after 10 years (the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Cyprus, Malta), 7 years (Romania, Slovenia) or 5 years (Belgium, France and Spain) and without any evidence of relapse or recurrence. 

Special conditions were developed in some countries for young people, offering shorter delays. In Romania, if cancer was diagnosed before the age of 18, the right to be forgotten would apply from 5 years after the end of treatment. In Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Cyprus and Slovenia, a similar shorter period applies for a diagnosis before the age of 21. 

In addition, France, Belgium and the Netherlands have developed reference grids that provide specific conditions for non-invasive cancers, shortening the time between the end of treatment and the application of the right to be forgotten. These lists include specific conditions and shorter delays for cancers with an excellent prognosis. These lists of exceptions are reviewed either annually or every 2 years according to medical progress and statistics (mortality rate). 

Some countries foresee maximum amounts that can be borrowed for cancer survivors to benefit from the law. In the Netherlands for example, mortgages cannot exceed 278.004€ (adjusted once every three years) per person, while there is no limit in Belgium. 

When applying for financial services, cancer survivors are not obliged to disclose their cancer history, pertaining that the mandated period has passed to benefit from the right to be forgotten. In France, the situation has evolved through the years, and now cancer survivors are exempt from notifying their cancer history in medical questionnaires after the five-year recovery period for the insurance contracts occurring before the borrower’s 71st birthday, and for any loan with a maximum amount of 200,000€ per person and when the loan matures before the loaner’s 60th birthday, medical questionnaires are abandoned.

Other countries have adopted non-legislative frameworks which take the form of Conventions between the government and insurers (Luxembourg) and self-regulatory codes of conduct (Ireland, Denmark, Czechia). 

Click on the map below to find more information about existing provisions throughout the EU.