The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7247 p606
3 May 2003

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European Association of Europharmaceutical Companies (www.eaepc.org)

Ban on PIs from new EU countries

Parallel importers say that a ban on pharmaceutical imports from central and eastern European countries that are soon to join the European Union is unreasonable.

Donald Macarthur, secretary of the European Association of Europharmaceutical Companies, described the derogation from normal rules on free trade within the EU as "an export ban designed to benefit western multinational companies by protecting them from free and fair competition".

The Czech republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia will join the EU on 1 May 2004.