A number of parliamentary questions have been tabled by Members of the European Parliament for the European Commission during the first trimester of 2009 and have now received an answer:

• Françoise Grossetête MEP (EPP-ED) on 9 January 2009: Médicaments homéopathiques
• Alessandro Foglietta MEP (UEN) on 2 March 2009: Homeopathic medicines in Italy
• Ria Oomen-Ruijten MEP (EPP-ED) on 20 March 2009: Homeopathic medicinal products
• Hiltrud Breyer MEP (Greens/ALE) on 2 April 2009: Anthroposophic medicinal products
• Hiltrud Breyer MEP (Greens/ALE) on 7 May 2009: EU Funding for alternative medicine

The Commission’s answers make it obvious that its ‘marge de manoeuvre’ is very narrow and that it has no solution for the better functioning of the legislation for homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products within the current legal and regulatory framework for these products. The answers make it clear that this legislation urgently needs a review.

These questions concern the daily health provisions of almost 30% of European citizens, and so it is surprising that the Commission has no overview of the very difficult situation of homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products in most of the Member States. The answers include the following sentences:

‘The Commission is not in a position to confirm or invalidate your statement……..’;
‘The Commission therefore has not yet taken any decision ……’;
‘As the Commission is not informed by the Member States on authorisations granted, the Commission does not have concrete figures ……..’.

The Commission’s position is further confused when it says,  ‘Il convient de signaler à cet égard que la Commission n’a adopté aucune nouvelle règle impliquant que les médicaments homéopathiques mis sur le marché légalement entre 1994 et 2008 devraient être retirés du marché maintenant’. (Translation: In this respect we would like to add that the Commission has not adopted any new regulation implying that homeopathic medicines legally accepted onto the market between 1994 and 2008 should now be withdrawn from the market).

There has indeed been no such new ‘negative’ regulation. But the stakeholders (and also the European Parliament) have been expecting an improvement of the existing legislation since the Commission report of July 1997.  It is obvious to all stakeholders that availability of homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products manufactured by licensed manufacturers has declined significantly, not because of new measures but because of the inappropriateness of the basic legislation and the unharmonised implementation thereof in the Community and in the Member States.

In the context of the European goals of harmonisation and free trade, combined with free choice for the citizens for their healthcare, the Commission’s answers bring little clarification to the difficult situations faced by the consumers who seek to purchase these medicinal products, the practitioners who prescribe them and the European manufacturers who produce them in line with good manufacturing practice (GMP) rules.

A summary of the relevant parliamentary questions and the answers can be found on the Members only part of the ECHAMP website as well as on the Parliamentary Question page of the European Parliament.

Nand de Herdt
ECHAMP President