Brussels, 14/06/2007 (Agence Europe) - During a debate on Wednesday 13 June, around 20 MEPs and representatives from national pharmacists' associations exchanged views on the subject of legislative challenges now facing this sector. During dinner they underlined the importance of different national regulations for the general interest. These regulations govern how pharmacies in Europe can be set up and managed. Although the Commission was invited to the meeting, it did not attend and is currently pursuing procedures against these regulations in four member states.
If the Commission wins in the proceedings at the Court of Justice (C-531/06) against Italy, the wholesale pharmacy sector will be “completely blown away”, declared, John Chave, secretary general of the Pharmaceutical Group of the EU (PGEU).
The Court's judgement in this case could subsequently compel Italy to lift its restrictions on buying shares in private pharmacies. The Italian law currently stipulates that only pharmacists can own private pharmacies, and that companies operating in the pharmaceutical distribution sector cannot jointly own pharmacies. According to the Commission, this law fails to comply with Article 43 (freedom of establishment) and Article 56 (free movement of capital) in the EU Treaty.
Italy and the PGEU are, on the other hand, arguing that these regulations are indispensable to the provision of adequate health services, especially in more isolated areas. The provision of these services by pharmacists also corresponds to a significant economy of scale in the national health budget, by avoiding unnecessary hospital treatment. Above all, the value of the services provided cannot be measured in monetary terms alone; trained pharmacists are the first medical point of contact for a very large section of the population, which benefits from the proximity of a free source of information and advice. Several speakers praised the system but fear the worst, namely that the Commission and Court will impose a transition towards a more open market. Mr Chave said that they should “think about it…your local pharmacy may soon be owned by an investment fund in California”.
The Court now has to wait for all the arguments from the different parties to be submitted before making a decision. Health services were excluded from the “services” directive and therefore still remain within the remit of the member states. Article 30 of the EC treaty also allows for certain restrictions on freedom of establishment and movement of capital for health protection reasons, in return for the proportionality of these restrictions and the objectives mentioned above.
The Commission is also taking proceedings against Spain, Portugal, France and Austria in this area but these cases have not yet been taken to the Court of Justice. (cd)