On Wednesday 24 April, France called for greater efforts to relocate the production of medicines considered essential at European level, in order to combat the shortages with which the European Union is regularly confronted.
At the launch of a ‘Critical Medicines Alliance’, the French Minister for Industry, Roland Lescure, presented “a manifesto in favour of a coordinated investment plan to facilitate relocation” at European level (see EUROPE 13398/4).
Signed by eight other EU Member States (Italy, Netherlands, Hungary, Greece, Malta, Slovakia, Cyprus and Romania), this manifesto emphasises the role of public procurement as an outlet for European relocation projects. The manifesto also calls for thought to be given to economic aid tools to support relocation projects, such as Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI).
Particularly in winter, the EU is faced with recurring shortages of important medicines such as antibiotics and paracetamol.
Increased demand, low production capacity and difficulties in sourcing raw materials partly explain this phenomenon. Above all, the EU imports between 60% and 80% of the active ingredients used to manufacture its medicines from Asia, mainly from India and China.
Link to the manifesto signed by the nine countries: https://aeur.eu/f/bya (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)