On 4 December, ENVI Committee will exchange views with the Commission on the Communication addressing medicine shortages in the EU. The Communication, part of the pharmaceutical legislation reform, was announced on October 24th, and aims to improve medicine supply security in the EU. For this purpose, it presents ways to prevent and mitigate critical shortages of medicines at EU level and to ensure a focus on the most critical medicines for which security of supply in the EU needs to be ensured at all times, in normal times and in times of crisis. More specifically, the Communication addresses both the mitigation of critical shortcomings in the immediate and short term as well as presenting structural measures in the medium and long term. This Communication is extremely relevant to ensure timely and equal access to essential medicines for all, as shortages put the health and well-being of citizens at risk. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have highlighted the dependencies of European supply chains.Source : © European Union, 2023 - EP