European Medicines Agency to keep its current place in the European Commission
Under the responsibility of the directorate general for health
The incoming President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has decided to keep the European Medicines Agency (EMA) under the responsibility of the directorate general (DG) for health, in a U-turn from his initial decision to transfer control to the DG for enterprise and industry.
‘I didn’t regard medicines as merchandise,’ he told members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg today (22 October), noting that he did not think his initial decision would be perceived this way.
‘I agree with you that medicines are not goods like any other,’ Juncker said. ‘I’ve decided to give this power back to the health commissioner.’
Vytenis Andriukaitis, the incoming Health Commissioner, will work with the future EU industry and internal market commissioner to develop policy for medicines and medical devices, according to Juncker.
Juncker had come under heavy criticism from many members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and civil society organisations when announcing on 10 September that he was shifting responsibility for supervising and controlling EMA from DG health. Some accused him of putting business profits before people’s health. The President of the European Parliament wrote a letter to him asking for this decision to be reconsidered. So did 35 non-governmental public health organisations.
Juncker announced today that he heard the call and has indeed changed his mind. EMA will thus remain under the responsibility of DG health when the Juncker commission’s mandate starts on 1 November.
‘This can be seen also as a clear victory for public health, patients and European citizens,’ non-governmental organisations working on health issues said in a statement.
