Fuente: © European Union
http://europa.eu.int

EU: Public procurement: infringement proceedings against Germany concerning award of discount contracts by statutory sickness insurance funds

/noticias.info/ The European Commission has decided to send a formal request to Germany concerning the award of discount contracts by some 240 German statutory sickness insurance funds. The framework contracts concluded by these sickness insurance funds concern the supply of pharmaceuticals via pharmacies and specify the discount levels that suppliers give to the sickness insurance funds which pay for the pharmaceuticals delivered to the insured population. They are either concluded for groups of pharmaceutical products containing specific medical substances or for the entire portfolio of pharmaceutical products of a supplier. Contractors are mainly large pharmaceutical suppliers. This formal request takes the form of a "reasoned opinion", the second stage of the infringement procedure laid down in Article 226 of the EC Treaty. If there is no satisfactory reply within two months, the Commission may refer the matter to the European Court of Justice.

Statutory sickness insurance funds use different procedures for awarding these framework contracts. These procedures range from direct awards to competitive procedures without European-wide tender. Most procedures do not comply with the standards required by the European public procurement Directives.

Economic operators who do not obtain these framework contracts are effectively excluded with their products from the German market for the duration of these contracts. This is based on a German law in force since April 2007 which obliges pharmacies to provide only products that are covered by the discount contracts to the insured population. The incorrect award procedures thus do not only disadvantage small and medium pharmaceutical suppliers but also effectively put them at risk being permanently forced out of the market. The economic impact of the alleged contracts is huge: annually, German Statutory sickness insurance funds spend 16 billion Euros on pharmaceuticals.

The latest information on infringement proceedings concerning all Member States can be found at:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/index_en.htm notas_de_prensa_archivo