On Friday 14 July, the European Commission decided to refer Poland to the Court of Justice of the European Union over the infringement proceedings it has initiated against Poland for imposing promotional bans on its pharmacies.
Warsaw was sent a letter of formal notice in 2019, followed by a reasoned opinion in 2020, but the Commission considers that it is still in breach of European rules at this stage, and has therefore decided to move on to the next stage of the infringement proceedings.
The Commission criticises Poland for banning pharmacies from carrying out promotional activities. They can only provide a limited amount of information to the public and cannot use electronic or non-electronic means for their business operations.
According to the Commission, these measures, imposed by the Polish Pharmaceutical Law, do not comply with either the European Directive on e-commerce or the TFEU. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)