[Pharm-policy] LAMY PLEDGES ACTION ON ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL MEDICINES

[James Love]

-----Original Message-----
From: eis@dg1.cec.be [mailto:eis@dg1.cec.be] 
Sent: jeudi 28 septembre 2000 19:16
To: consumers@beuc.org
Subject: LAMY PLEDGES ACTION ON ACCESS TO ESSENTIAL MEDICINES
(Ref:4CLCMD)

This is a communication from the Trade Directorate-General of the
European
Commission.

Attention:  Mr. Jim  MURRAY
            Director
            BEUC (Bureau Européen d'Unions des Consommateurs)
            BELGIUM
    Email:  consumers@beuc.org

LAMY PLEDGES ACTION ON ACCESS TO MEDICINES

European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy has pledged his 
department's commitment to making essential medicines more 
easily accessible to all who need them in developing 
countries. He and his colleagues, Commission President Romano 
Prodi and Development Commissioner Poul Nielson, were all 
attending a Round Table on Communicable Diseases co-sponsored 
by the Commission, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and 
UNAIDS in Brussels.

Mr Lamy said: Concrete and constructive proposals are needed... 
We are determined to make progress. He added that policy 
orientations were being considered on pricing, tariffs and 
taxes of key pharmaceuticals for malaria, tuberculosis and 
HIV/AIDS. Other areas to examine were tiered pricing, 
voluntary licensing arrangements for local production, and the 
possibility for  authorities to use Article 31 of the TRIPS 
agreement to have drugs manufactured in the public interest 
where conditions for it to be invoked are fulfilled.

For more details, go to: 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/whats_new/index_en.htm
Questions on EU trade policy? Join Commissioner Pascal Lamy for an 
online chat, October 16. Go to: 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/chat/index.htm