EU civil war over chronic drug shortages as key country blasts ‘lack of urgency’

Shortages of essential drug treatments has long been an issue in the – with over 50% of cases linked to manufacturing issues. An effort to address this shortfall has been spearheaded by Belgium – but officials in the have responded with disappointment to the ‘s new plan to fix the issue, unveiled this week. European Health Comissioner Oliver Varhelyi said a systematic rise in the number of shortages since 2013 would be addressed by steering investment in “companies that increase EU production of critical medicines” and “incentivising actions that make supply chains more resilient”.

such measures, however, ‘s deputy prime minister has criticised the plan as “lacking urgency”, suggesting that it doesn’t take into account the “gravity” of the supply crisis. “[The plan] does not reflect the seriousness of the situation and lacks the urgency needed to ensure our health and safety,” Frank Vandenbroucke said on Tuesday, March 11.

Obtaining important drugs has become even more of a serious issue for the EU in the past three years, with a post- rise in seasonal infections coinciding with the impact of inflation and the energy crisis. The bloc said over 50% of the shortages are linked to “manufacturing issues” and medicines affected include antibiotics and drug treatments for coughs, flu and blood pressure.

The Belgian leader acknowledged that the EU’s new Critical Medicines Act was an “important step forward”, but said his proposals for tackling the crisis – including taking funding from Europe’s defence strategy – would represent an even greater concentrated drive towards boosting European manufacturing.

Belgium published a discussion paper laying out proposals to tackle the problem in 2023, including calls echoed by Mr Varhelyi, to reduce the EU’s reliance on third-world countries for drug production.

Mr Varhelyi’s proposed measures also included awarding procurement contracts based on supply security and draw on an appropriation of £74.4 million (€88.5 million) from the Commission’s 2021-2027 budget.

“The Critical Medicines Act ensures that EU patients have access to the medicines they need, when and where they need them at an affordable price. In the current geopolitical context, this has become an even bigger priority,” he said.

However, other MEPs also raised concerns over the announcement, with some questioning why the act didn’t include plans to build a European stockpile of medicines for pharmacies and others declaring that it doesn’t offer “real solutions”.

“I personally think it’s quite weak, and might not really bring any change or incentive to improve dependencies and manage vulnerabilities on critical medicines,” an anonymous Commission official told Politico.

The plan will need to be approved by the European Parliament and member states before being enforced.