Proposals to make medicines in Europe more affordable by MEPs

New medicine prices in the European Union have risen over the past few decades, to the point of being unaffordable for many EU citizens and threatening the sustainability of national health care systems, say Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in a resolution voted on Thursday.

To strike a better balance between EU countries’ public health interests and those of the pharmaceutical industry, it calls for measures to improve the traceability of R&D costs, public funding and marketing expenditure.

“Public health systems in Europe are a key part of the identity of the EU and something which we value highly. Access to medicines must be guaranteed and in order to achieve that, we need to rebalance the negotiating power of EU member states compared to that of the pharmaceutical industry,” said MEP Soledad Cabezon Ruiz (S&D, Spain), who drafted the resolution. The text was approved by 568 votes to 30, with 52 abstentions.