MEPs are calling on the European Commission to consider a fund to ensure fair access to approved therapies for rare diseases, in an own-initiative report adopted (582 votes in favour, 35 against and 79 abstentions) on Wednesday 9 March.
MEPs call on the Commission and Member States to strengthen their support for European reference networks and national centres of expertise for rare and complex diseases, but also to extend the scope of European reference networks to other areas, such as serious burns treatment and organ transplantation programmes.
In this context, they invite the Commission to analyse the feasibility of creating a specific fund within the framework of cohesion policy to ensure equitable access to approved therapies for rare diseases. Among other salient proposals, MEPs propose the creation of specialised centres of excellence for specific diseases covering neighbouring countries.
In general, the report, by Tomislav Sokol (EPP, Croatia), calls on the Commission and Member States to cooperate in setting minimum standards for both infrastructure and health services and to use EU funds to ensure that all regions have equal access to minimum quality standards, especially in border and rural areas. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)