The European Commission welcomes the landmark political agreement on the Critical Medicines Act (CMA), last night by the Council and the European Parliament. This marks an important milestone in strengthening the resilience of Europe's health sector by preventing medicine shortages and improving the security of supply of critical medicines across the EU.
\nThe CMA will promote the diversification of supply chains and support pharmaceutical manufacturing within the EU, while enabling Member States to cooperate more closely to improve access to medicines in Europe. The CMA complements existing initiatives to address medicine shortages and strengthen supply in the EU, in particular the recently adopted pharmaceutical reform.
\nKey elements of the agreed Critical Medicines Act include:
\nThe political agreement is now subject to formal approval by the European Parliament and the Council.
\nTackling shortages and ensuring access to medicines have been a priority for the EU for many years. In March 2025, the European Commission proposed the Critical Medicines Act to improve the availability, supply and production of critical medicines within the EU.
\nToday's agreement follows the agreement reached in December on the modernisation of the EU's pharmaceutical legislation, which will also work to boost innovation and investment in the EU's pharmaceutical sector, while ensuring that medicines are safe, effective and available for patients throughout Europe. Together, the Pharma reform and CMA will work to strengthen resilience of the EU pharmaceutical market.
\nProposal for a Critical Medicines Act
\nQuestions and answers on the Critical Medicines Act
\nFactsheet – EU Actions to address medicines shortages
\n\n\n","pdfContent":null,"hasPdf":true,"pdfContentSize":81547,"language":"EN","dolaAvResources":[],"dolaQuoteResources":[{"ky":99724,"author":{"ky":5775,"authorName":"Olivér Várhelyi, Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare","language":{"langCd":"EN"},"pictureUri":"https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/image/content/oliver-varhely-cards-author-nms-120x120.png"},"extract":"Today’s agreement comes at a crucial moment, when the vulnerability of supply chains is so clearly exposed. The Critical Medicines Act is Europe’s essential safety-belt: preventing shortages, reducing dependence on single suppliers and strengthening production closer to home to safeguard public health. Patients in the EU must have access to the medicines they need, when they need them, and today’s Act will help to make it happen.","extractDateDt":"2026-05-12T00:00:00.000+02:00","orderNb":1,"type":"TEXTEXTREA"}],"attachmentResources":[],"linkResources":[],"dolaRLinkResources":[],"etranslated":false,"original":true},"languages":["BG","CS","DA","DE","EL","ES","ET","FI","FR","GA","HR","HU","IT","LT","LV","MT","NL","PL","PT","RO","SK","SL","SV"],"eTranslatedlanguages":["BG","CS","DA","EL","ES","ET","FI","GA","HR","HU","IT","LT","LV","MT","NL","PL","PT","RO","SK","SL","SV"],"refCd":"IP/26/1017","isSpeechWarning":false,"docutypeResource":{"ky":1,"code":"IP","description":"Press release","order":1},"contactsResource":[{"ky":23184,"firstName":"Eva","lastName":"HRNCIROVA","phone":"+32 2 298 84 33","mail":"eva.hrncirova@ec.europa.eu","order":1,"title":"Spokesperson","pictureUri":"https://commission.europa.eu/sites/default/files/styles/oe_theme_medium_no_crop/public/2024-12/Eva-Hrncirova.jpg"},{"ky":23079,"firstName":"Anna","lastName":"GRAY","phone":"+32 2 29 80873","mail":"anna.gray@ec.europa.eu","order":2,"title":"Press Officer","pictureUri":"https://commission.europa.eu/sites/default/files/styles/oe_theme_medium_no_crop/public/2025-01/anna-gray.jpg"}],"placeResource":{"ky":1,"code":null,"description":"Brussels","order":null,"parentPlace":null},"eventDate":"2026-05-12","publishDate":"2026-05-12T09:03:20.000+02:00","countriesResource":[],"policiesResource":[{"ky":32,"code":"HEALTHPOL","description":"Public health","children":[],"detCode":["3885"]}],"commissionerResource":[{"ky":998,"code":"OLIVÉRVÁRH","shortDescription":"Olivér Várhelyi","longDescription":null,"orderNumber":26,"alternateCode":null}],"isPriority":false,"isEmbargo":false,"isNoAlert":true,"originalLanguage":"EN","estimatedTimeReading":2,"globalImg":null}