INTERVIEW WITH MEP MARISA MATIAS : COUNTERFEIT MEDICINES: COMPROMISE REFLECTS EP'S DESIRES.

• Position: Interview

The second section of the pharmaceuticals package, concerning prevention of entry into the legal supply chain of counterfeit medicinal products, has been wrapped up: on 16 February, MEPs adopted their position at first reading during the Strasbourg plenary, the result of a compromise with the Council. A few days before the vote, Portuguese rapporteur Marisa Matias (GUE-NGL, Portugal) had welcomed the amendments made to the Commission's initial proposal. In accordance with the Parliament's desires, the new directive anticipates specific measures for sales via the internet, as well as a common safety measure and sanctions for the falsification of medicinal products.

What is the general objective of this directive?

The text aims to increase the safety of patients, who are confronted by a growing number of falsified medicinal products. According to current border controls, which are random, the proportion of counterfeit medicines identified has increased by almost 400% compared with 2005, whereas 1% to 3% of medicinal products sold in pharmacies are falsified. Counterfeit medicinal products are now silent killers because, ultimately, people are purchasing preparations without active pharmaceutical ingredients, which do not treat those suffering from cancer, for example. With the new directive, there will be a system, which will make it possible to strengthen controls throughout the entire chain, from production to acquisition.

On the internet, one in two medicines is falsified. How will the new directive tackle this?

In the beginning, the Commission did not want to include internet sales in the directive's field of application. It believed that the proposal aimed to prevent counterfeit medicines from being introduced into the legal supply chain, which excluded this medium, since it is considered to be non-legal' in several member states. However, this is not the case in all countries (UK, Germany or Belgium) and it thus mattered to Parliament that this point should be considered in the directive. The compromise therefore anticipates the setting up of awareness campaigns as well as a common logo in order to identify whether or not a website is safe. This logo will be linked to a national website, which will itself be linked to a Community website. We are delighted by this progress.

Another victory for Parliament is the introduction of a safety measure. How will this be set up and who will assume the costs associated with it?

According to the...