The accessibility and availability of medicines continues to be a problem for a large number of Member States in the European Union, as many Health Ministers reported at their informal meeting in Bucharest on 15 April (see EUROPE 12234/11).
This issue has given rise to many speeches, with one Member State highlighting in particular the example of a drug that today costs 500 times more than when it entered the European market 50 years ago. Others stressed the importance of innovation. The Commission has indicated that it will publish a report on rare diseases before the summer. During a 'miscellaneous' item, Italy also indicated that it would submit a resolution to the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the transparency of pharmaceutical prices to Member States.
The other topic on the agenda was the implementation of the directive on cross-border healthcare. Participants stressed the need to continue to invest in European Reference Networks (ERNs) to increase knowledge sharing.
The meeting also provided an opportunity for delegations to hear two of the three EU candidates for the post of Director of the WHO Regional Office, following Zsuzsanna Jakab's departure in September. In total, six candidates applied for this position, including three European candidates (one Belgian, one Austrian and one Bulgarian). Only the Belgian and Austrian candidates were present at this meeting, which was attended by the Director General of DG Health at the European Commission, Anne Bucher, and the Director for Strategic Partnerships of the World Health Organisation, Maria Magdalena Meulenbergs. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)