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We need EU solidarity to save human lives / Without solidarity the EU can fall apart due to corona crisis


The corona crisis has the EU firmly in its grip. The European Commission has therefore today adopted a paper on emergency assistance. Among other things, this involves providing financial support to Member States for transporting intensive care patients to other Member States or coordinating free hospital bed capacity. The aim is to save as many lives as possible in the current crisis. So far, only Luxembourg and Germany have taken over patients from other Member States on a large scale. MEP Peter Liese, EPP spokesperson for health praised this concrete form of support by the Commission.

"In my view, it is urgently necessary for all Member States to report their free bed capacities and to help those regions, such as Northern Italy, Madrid and Eastern France, where doctors and nurses are desperately fighting for people's lives but simply have no capacity left. The crisis hits Member States at different times and those who help today will certainly be grateful for help from others tomorrow," said the doctor and MEP. Liese himself had repeatedly called for this kind of support, as this also affects the core of the European Union.

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Hope for little patients and their families / Appeal to Novartis to significantly reduce the price in the EU


The current coronavirus crisis is of high concern to all of us, but we should not lose sight of people suffering from chronic, previously untreatable diseases. For one of these patient groups, MEP Peter Liese, EPP health spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament Dr. med. Peter Liese (Christian Democrats), now has good news.
 
The novel gene therapy drug Zolgensma from Novartis currently costs around two million US dollars (1.9 million euros) in the USA. It is used as a single-use therapy for children with spinal muscular atrophy. However, the drug has not yet been approved in Europe. This will change quickly as an approval is close. "I assume that the approval of Zolgensma will be granted soon. This week, the expert committees at the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which is responsible for Europe-wide approval, issued a final positive assessment. The European Commission will officially issue the approval in a timely manner. It can now take place quickly."

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Showing solidarity by treating patients abroad / Large joint research effort / Less bureaucracy


"We urgently need more joint European action to overcome the corona crisis. Showing solidarity and acting together will make a huge difference in the fight against the corona crisis. If we fail to do so, the corona virus could destroy the EU", declared the German Member of European Parliament (MEP) and health policy spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP, Christian Democrats) and doctor Peter Liese. Liese called for massive extensions of cross-border aid measures. “So far, hardly any medical professionals from other EU countries have come to Italy. It is a bad sign for the Italians when they see that Albania, Cuba, China and Russia are helping out in their country, but other European member states are not. Moreover, only two Member States, namely the rather small country Luxembourg, which should explicitly being mentioned in this context, and Germany have accepted patients from other Member States. During the Ebola crisis, we helped patients from West Africa and flew them in. Why the hell is it not possible for patients from Madrid, who can no longer find a place in the completely overcrowded hospitals, to be treated in the Scandinavian countries, Ireland or Eastern Europe?” According to Liese, the European Commission is currently extensively working on finding a solution to this matter. Already tomorrow, Friday, a proposal shall be presented on how the work of the Member States in this area can be coordinated, as well as how free intensive care capacities can be reported as quickly as possible in order to help as many patients as possible, as quickly as possible.

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Vital to allow the industry deal with the unprecedented demand

The EU Commission has today agreed to temporarily suspend the introduction of new Medical Device rules amid the Covid-19 crisis “With all our systems under enormous pressure, especially our medical devices industry, it is time to press the pause button on implementation of the Medical Devices Regulation, due to come into force in two months, until such time as things return to normal said Mairead McGuinness MEP and Vice President of the Parliament "It's the right move. I will do my utmost to ensure that the European Parliament adopts the proposal as soon as possible. We must now ensure that all those who can manufacture ventilators, masks, tests and other medical devices do so and focus on addressing the current crisis", said EPP MEP Peter Liese, health spokesperson of the largest group in the European Parliament (EPP- Christian Democrats) and supported the announcement of the European Commission to postpone the implementation of the new medical devices regulation for one year.

  1. Europe’s answer to the corona crisis: more solidarity, less bureaucracy
  2. Corona crisis in Europe
  3. Corona in the EU
  4. Solidarity, cooperation and exchange