Brussels/Luxembourg – Slovakia is backing the European Union’s agenda to enhance self-sufficiency in critical medicines. This was announced by Slovak Minister of Health, Kamil Šaško (Hlas-SD), following Friday’s EU Health Council meeting in Luxembourg, as reported by TASR.
Šaško highlighted that the Council of Ministers addressed numerous issues, emphasizing the significance of legislation on critical medicines and the preparation of a pharmaceutical legislative package. He noted that the EU’s regulation on critical medicines should be considered alongside similar global frameworks, such as the American drug law.
“Our aim is to ensure adequate medicine availability for patients and users in the EU during critical times,” Šaško stated. He stressed the need for the EU to achieve greater autonomy, ideally even self-sufficiency, in this sector, which entails increased investments in European pharmaceutical production and mechanisms that ensure access to medicines not only during crises like the coronavirus pandemic but also in wartime situations, such as the conflict in Ukraine.
“The strategic objective for the EU and Slovakia is to invest in areas of strategic importance and in domestic drug production. This will provide us with a degree of autonomy from non-EU countries,” he said.
The discussions among ministers also focused on general investments in medicines within the EU to lessen reliance on imports from third countries.
“For Slovakia, this is a vital issue, given the emergence of new companies investing significantly in this field. Thus, it is crucial to ensure that adequate financial instruments are available at the European level to support such investments,” he remarked.
Šaško mentioned the pharmaceutical legislative package as another key subject, currently under negotiation between the EU Council (member states) and the European Parliament, with the Slovak Ministry of Health actively involved.
“This new drug policy aims at ensuring the availability of medicines while boosting competitiveness in the sector. An important issue for Slovakia is parallel trade or the re-export of medicines, which affects pricing and medicine availability within the EU,” he elaborated.
He also highlighted the importance of discussions on the mental health of children and adolescents in online environments, as well as prevention initiatives to reduce dependency on tobacco and alcohol. His ministry is planning to propose a ban on the sale of flavored nicotine products and single-use electronic cigarettes. (June 20)
“The strategic goal of the EU and Slovakia is to invest in areas of strategic significance and in domestic drug production. This will give us a certain autonomy from third countries.” Kamil Šaško
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