The European Union is planning to form a strategic stockpile of medicines and take the necessary legislative measures to ensure their guaranteed supplies, the European Commission told the Financial Times on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th January, 2023) The European Union is planning to form a strategic stockpile of medicines and take the necessary legislative measures to ensure their guaranteed supplies, the European Commission told the Financial Times on Thursday.
According to the report, EU member states and the United Kingdom have faced an increase in winter sickness due to a noticeable shortage of basic medicines, including penicillin and paracetamol, as well as a drop in supplies from China.
The European Commission told the newspaper that it intended to intervene in the situation to ensure "strategic autonomy" in basic medicines through a "systemic industrial policy."
The commission will soon propose legislative measures to avoid interruptions in medical supplies and to ensure that all patients in need have access to medicines, the report added.
The reform would require "stronger obligations for supply, earlier notification of shortages and withdrawals and enhanced transparency of stocks," the commission told the newspaper.
The EU also plans to reduce dependence on medical supplies from China and boost domestic production, the newspaper noted.
