“There are differing positions between different member states on that,” he said. “I think probably smaller member states would be more supportive of such redistribution mechanisms than those bigger ones who are stockpiling.”
Buying power
Another point of contention will be around procurement.
The Commission proposed expanding rules to allow multiple countries to purchase medicines together, known as joint procurement, increasing their buying power.
But this applies not only to the cheap, generic drugs such as antibiotics and painkillers which account for the majority of defined “critical medicines,” but also to certain innovative drugs, such as for rare diseases . This raised serious concerns among the pharmaceutical industry and is likely to flare up in legislative talks too.
In addition, the Commission’s draft allowed it to participate in the joint purchasing of medicines. Lawmakers in the European Parliament kept this proposal in, but they will have to face off with the Council, which removed it entirely.
This decision that didn’t go down well with several countries, especially in Southern and Eastern Europe, plus Belgium, the first country to call for a European Critical Medicines Act.