WRITTEN QUESTION P-2313/02 by Edward McMillan-Scott (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Closure of Selby coalfield.
Date: 2002-07-18
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Structural Funds, Yorkshire and The Humber, cessation of trading, coal mining, competence of the Member States, economic consequence, eligible region, regional aid, vocational training

C 301 E/268

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

5.12.2002

Based on this report as well as on other publicly available figures, the Commission considers that a period
of 10 years strikes the most appropriate balance between providing sufficient rewards for innovation while
at the same time promoting generic competition. This assessment was also underlying the adoption of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2309/93 of 22 July 1993 laying down Community procedures for the
authorization and supervision of medicinal products for human and veterinary use and establishing a
European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products (4) which grants such a 10-year data protection
to all centrally authorised medicines.

The reflection leading to the current proposal extended of course to the expected impact of this proposal
on the healthcare budget of current and future Member States. Basic information was again collected and
summarised in the ‘McKenna’ report (see in particular section 5.3.9.1).

A precise prediction of the impact however is not possible for a number of reasons. The first and
fundamental reason is the interdependence of expenditure for medicines on the one hand and in- and out-
patient care on the other. Medicines account for about 15 % of the total healthcare expenditure, whereas
the in-patient care accounts for about 42 % and out-patient care for about 43 % (according to Organisation
for Economic Cooperation and Development Health Data 2001). It is to be expected that a favourable
climate for innovation in Europe will improve the availability of innovative medicines. This could lead to
an increase in public expenditure for medicines, but it has great potential for reducing significantly the
expenditure for in- and out-patient care. This could finally help to cut down the public expenditure.

In addition, there are a number of other factors which will also contribute to the total healthcare budget.
First, the Commission’s proposals contain a number of improvements for generic medicines which aim at
reinforcing generic competition after the expiry of data protection. Second, a number of developments
outside the ongoing revision, like the arrival of ‘tailor-made’ medicines relying on the latest knowledge of
the human genome or expected improvements in health conditions in candidate countries, will also have a
strong impact on the total healthcare budget.

(1) COM(2001) 404 final.
(2) Available on the web site http://pharmacos.eudra.org/F2/pharmacos/docs/Doc2000/nov/reportmk.pdf.
(3) http://pharmacos.eudra.org/F3/g10/docs/comprep_nov2000.pdf.
(4) OJ L 214, 24.8.1993.

(2002/C 301 E/287)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2313/02

by Edward McMillan-Scott (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(18 July 2002)

Subject: Closure of Selby coalfield

With regard to the enormous public investment by the EU and other public authorities in the development
of the mines and associated infrastructure in the area, what funds are now available to deal with the
human consequences of the recently announced closure of Selby coalfield?

(2002/C 301 E/288)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2397/02

by Richard Corbett (PSE) to the Commission

(5 August 2002)

Subject: Closure of Selby coal mines and EU structural funding

Will the Commission give active consideration to redeploying structural funding to Yorkshire to take
account of new developments, and in particular, the announcement of the closure of the Selby coal mines
with the loss of thousands of jobs?