The framework highlights potential benefits for medicines for rare diseases, antimicrobials, and high-cost or highly specialized treatments.

Scholars propose reducing eligible countries for joint procurement to five, down from nine in the original proposal.

The European Parliament approves a resolution to strengthen EU pharmaceutical self-sufficiency and competitiveness, prioritizing strategic industrial projects and funding within the current and upcoming multiannual financial framework to reduce dependence on non-EU manufacturers.

Public procurement should favor producers with a significant share of critical medicines made in the EU, and voluntary cross-border joint procurement could improve supply for rare diseases, antimicrobials, and high-cost treatments, with a minimum of five countries participating.

The package includes creating EU-based strategic projects to build or modernize manufacturing capacity, with preferential funding and obligations for beneficiaries to prioritize EU supply.

Context shows a March 2025 Commission proposal to regulate critical medicines to strengthen availability—especially antibiotics, insulin, vaccines, and chronic-disease drugs—and to address market failures linked to manufacturing issues, including active ingredient shortages.

The initiative notes that more than half of reported shortages stem from manufacturing problems, underscoring the need for regulatory action to secure access.

The resolution aligns with the Commission’s March 2025 initiative to catalog critical medicines and reinforce supply resilience across the EU.

MEPs call for an EU coordination mechanism for national stockpiles and contingency stocks, with the Commission empowered to redistribute medicines between member states during shortages or disruptions.

There will be stronger coordination of national stockpiles and an EU mechanism to reallocate medicines as needed to mitigate shortages.

The next step is for Parliament to begin negotiations with EU governments to finalize the regulation and move toward formal adoption.

The proposal aims to improve access to medicines of common interest by addressing market failures while focusing on production reliability and crisis readiness.