Ireland faces threat of fines over parallel import application times

Ireland is being threatened with legal action at the European Court of Justice by the European Commission, because of the slowness of its procedures regarding applications for parallel imports of pharmaceutical products.

Brussels alleges that the Irish authorities take on average two-and-a-half years to carry this out, systematically requiring the authorities of the exporting country to verify the information provided by an applicant company and to give information with regard to therapeutic equivalence.

In a statement, the Commission said that it 'considers that in most cases the Irish authorities could apply a simplified procedure to speed this process', and has therefore 'requested Ireland to put a stop to these lengthy procedures because they constitute an illegal trade barrier'.

If the Irish government refuses, it could be brought before the court, because the Commission has couched its demand in a Reasoned Opinion, a legal final warning note that gave Dublin two months in which to draw up a satisfactory solution to the problem. The court has the power to order Ireland to comply and in the last resort, order its government to pay massive daily recurring fines until it does.