Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-11-30-Speech-3-178"
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"en.20051130.16.3-178"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as has just been pointed out, our debate today concerns the regulation to put in place a mechanism for countries that are unable to produce the medicines that are essential for the public health of their citizens. The fact that we are dealing with this question on the eve of World Aids Day should encourage us to send a loud and clear message to those countries so tragically affected. UN Aids again reminded us very recently of the sad reality that the world has never before had so many people who are carriers of HIV. The number of persons infected passed the 40 million mark this year and Sub-Saharan Africa is the most severely affected with two thirds of the world’s sufferers and three quarters of the world’s infected women.
It has been clear from the outset that Parliament has one priority, namely the rapid implementation of the regulation in question, so that countries in need can benefit from the flexibility offered by the WTO’s 30 August 2003 solution as soon as possible. This is a first step in the European Union’s compliance with the spirit of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS and public health.
I would like to thank my colleague Mr Van Hecke warmly for the work he has done in consultation and collaboration with the counter rapporteurs. He appears before us today with a compromise that manages to take account of Members’ positions: it is a responsible stance. Several of our demands appear in the final text, in particular the widening of the scope to the least developed countries and certain developing countries that are not members of the WTO. In view of the vital role that NGOs and certain international organisations play in the supply of health services and treatments, I am glad that they will be allowed to deal with patent holders directly in order to buy and distribute generic medicines. I am also pleased to see that my proposal for a simplified procedure for additional quantities has been adopted.
There are many positive points. I do have a number of regrets, however, especially regarding the appropriate remuneration to be paid to patent holders. I would have liked the rapporteur’s proposed 4% ceiling to be mandatory in all situations and not only in emergencies. We have nevertheless succeeded in getting the fact that the compulsory licence is issued for humanitarian and not for commercial reasons taken into account when that remuneration is calculated.
I also hope that this regulation will be evaluated quickly and its viability assessed. In view of the complexity of the mechanism it seeks to deploy, I shall remain vigilant to see that this solution is permanently included in the WTO intellectual property rules. Indeed, only such an evaluation will enable us to draw adequate conclusions for effectively revising and adapting our response to the public health problems encountered by the countries of the South.
Meeting the challenge of access to medicines requires a more global approach and the regulation we are discussing today is only one stage in that. Within the WTO, Europe must commit itself to ensuring that all the Doha Agreement’s public health advances are translated into reality. This means in particular ensuring that no bilateral or regional trade agreements include additional conditions on intellectual property that would undo the gains of the Doha Declaration.
Moreover, if application of that declaration leaves something to be desired in practice, the EU must also try to find new ways to give the developing countries easier access to medicines. Even now, we are faced with the need for second-line treatments, for which no generics are yet available and the price of which is prohibitive, requiring renewed action on our part.
The fight against Aids and, I must stress, many other diseases afflicting mainly the poorest populations is far from being won. The forthcoming WTO conference in Hong Kong gives us an ideal opportunity to bring the question of access to medicines back to the centre of the debate. Adopting this regulation today offers us a first definite solution for thousands of sick people who are waiting for treatment, but let us not forget, when tomorrow comes, to seek lasting solutions equal to the scale of the challenge that faces us."@en1
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