We need to take action to address the shortages of essential medicines in Europe due to the rising cases of flu and corona. The number of out-of-stock medicines in Ireland has risen to over 200 this week, and this is a pan-European issue. To solve this problem, we need to evaluate our methods of procurement, purchasing, storage, and distribution of these key medicines and move towards increasing domestic production in Europe to reduce our dependency on imports.
Proposals:
1. Common procurement: Member States, led by the Commission, should discuss common procurement of essential medicines, as we did during the pandemic.
2. Increased domestic production: Europe should increase its domestic production of critical elements to reduce dependency on imports.
3. Evaluate current methods: We need to evaluate our current methods of procurement, purchasing, storage, and distribution of essential medicines to identify areas for improvement.
4. Pan-European response: The pandemic has highlighted the need for a pan-European response to address these shortages and ensure that all citizens have access to essential medicines.
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