On 23-24 February, Mark Thursz, EASL Vice-Secretary and Dominique Valla, EASL EU Policy Councillor, travelled to Brussels to meet with key Commission officials from the Directorate-General for Research and stakeholders active in the field of EU alcohol policy. EASL made the case for improving the EU's research funding provided to liver disease and presented some of the challenges faced by European researchers when applying for EU calls for proposals. When meeting with members of  the European Alcohol and Health Forum (EAHF), an EU platform which EASL has recently joined, EASL discussed the challenges ahead to reduce alcohol-related harm. EASL hopes that these meetings will improve policy-makers' awareness of the importance of liver disease - the only top 5 killer in Europe to be on the increase.