Brussels, 10/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - There is currently no prospect for compensating thalidomide victims at a European level. On Wednesday 9 March, Commissioner Vytenis Andriukaitis (Health and Food Safety) responded to MEPs by informing them that the European Commission did not have the scope to set up such an instrument. He is calling on MEPs to exert pressure on their respective governments.
Thalidomide is a medicine that was marketed at the end of the 1950s and the beginning of the 1960s as relief for morning sickness among pregnant women, as well as to help treat headaches, insomnia and colds. It turned out that this medicine had far reaching side-effects on pregnant women, whose children were born with congenital deformities. According to the figures provided by MEPs, there are around 900 victims. Esteban Gonzalez-Pons (EPP, Spain) deplored the fact that “In Spain, 500 victims have been counted and yet only 24 have been recognised as such”. MEPs have therefore submitted an oral question to demand recognition and support for these people, by way of a victim compensation fund. Stefan Eck (GUE/NGL, Germany) said that “The European Union has a single market for pharmaceutical companies and it must have a common system for supporting the victims of medical disasters”.
Commissioner Andriukaitis explained that he could not meet this demand even if he supported it and stated “Article 168 of the treaty is very clear: the organisation and provision of health services, as well as the introduction of a financial mechanism in this domain is covered by the scope of member states. The Commission is therefore unable to introduce a framework for providing compensation. Given this absence, it can, however, support the member states by way of sincere cooperation”. The Commissioner for Health called on MEPs to relay their message to the respective governments of the member states. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)