Extraordinary session of the KS Government: List of medicines must protect domestic production

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The Government of Sarajevo Canton, at its 130th extraordinary session, withdrew the Proposal of the Decision on the list of medicines from the agenda, and tasked the Ministry of Health to return this proposal to the KS Commission for Medicines, which will prepare a new Proposal of the Decision on the list of medicines in accordance with valid regulations.

- The Government of Sarajevo Canton believes that the previous list of medicines should be maintained, and that domestic pharmaceutical companies should be represented when creating the essential list of medicines. This way, domestic production is protected, which is the practice in neighboring countries and beyond.

The previous decision of the KS Government was subject to the Competition Council, but they made a decision that the Government had acted in the spirit of the practice of European Union institutions at that time, and it was determined that in this specific case, it acted as a "public authority" exercising public powers defined by constitutional competencies, the specialized law on medicines, and the mandate granted by citizens.

By this decision of the Competition Council of BiH, the claims of foreign manufacturers who accused the Government of Sarajevo Canton last year of favoring domestic producers with the new decision on the essential list of medicines and questioning market competition were directly challenged.