Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-02-10-Speech-1-091"
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"en.20030210.8.1-091"2
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"Mr President, I welcome the European Union initiative in January to break the current WTO deadlock on developing countries’ access to affordable medicines, particularly those countries which do not have the manufacturing capacity to make generic medicines locally.
Just last month, Commissioner Lamy proposed a pragmatic solution which, in his view, is workable, sustainable and legally secure, because it complies with both the Doha mandate and the compromise text of 16 December 2002 that was discussed within the WTO. The EU initiative covers the most comprehensive possible list of major infectious diseases but is not restrictive, which was the main problem with the negotiations in 2002.
Commissioner Lamy's list includes: yellow fever, plague, cholera, meningitis, dengue, influenza, hepatitis, polio, typhoid fever, typhus and measles. These are all horrendous diseases that have been virtually eradicated in the West, yet millions die unnecessarily in the Third World every year. The Lamy strategy would save lives, and pharmaceutical companies will not be losing revenue because the people in these countries are too poor to buy the medication as it stands. The debilitating effect of these diseases affects families, communities and economies throughout the developing world.
This EU initiative should help to improve the standard of living and public health in some, if not all, of the developing world. However, it is essential that a mechanism is constructed to deal with the other public health issues and potential outbreaks, and not just the diseases listed in the compromise deal.
The list proposed by Commissioner Lamy is not restrictive – WTO members could ask for World Health Organisation guidance for any other serious public health problems which may arise in the future or are not covered by the list as it stands. This gives the EU proposal some flexibility to respond to unforeseen outbreaks. The response will be based on World Health Organisation expertise in the field.
The compromise proposal, which is more humane that the US approach, should allay US concerns that patent laws could be breached and weakened. At the same time, it provides sufficient flexibility to deal with specific disease-related crises, should they occur.
This debate will hopefully send a strong message of support for the Lamy proposal, as the WTO General Council simultaneously discusses the subject. It is important to help the developing world to eradicate these diseases without depriving the pharmaceutical industry of the funding it needs for further research in this area."@en1
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