CoFoE: Wiezik: EU Will Be Better Prepared for Crises by Increasing Powers of EMA
Strasbourg, January 25 (TASR) – Strengthening the powers of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will contribute towards managing future crises, Slovak MEP Michal Wiezik has opined.
“Thanks to the agency’s enhanced role, we in Europe will be better equipped to deal with future crises after the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Wiezik, as cited by the European Parliament press department.
The MEP remarked that this will strengthen the capacity to manage the availability of medicines, medical devices and other items. According to him, EU-member countries will also gain “more transparency, more EU involvement, better coordination and also more effective monitoring.”
On January 20, the European Parliament approved an increase in the EMA’s powers. The third citizens’ panel of the Conference on the Future of Europe (CoFoE) has also included boosting the powers of the agency in its recommendations. This conference gives EU citizens an opportunity to express their opinions regarding the future of the EU.
Among other recommendations drawn up by the third panel was to set up an office that would negotiate more affordable prices of medicines for EU-member states.
