site.btaGerman Ambassador Plank: Bulgaria Can Be Important Element in Strengthening EU’s Health System

The European pharmaceutical sector is key to European Union health care. We learned this during the COVID pandemic when it became clear that the Union cannot rely any longer on external supplies,” said German Ambassador here Irene Plank in her opening remarks at an international conference, entitled "Towards High Value Healthcare System in Bulgaria" in Sofia on Thursday.

The discussion is organized in partnership with AmCham, the German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce (AHK Bulgarien) and the Bulgarian-Swiss Chamber of Commerce. Attending were also US Ambassador Kenneth Merten and Swiss Ambassador Raymund Furrer.

Reforming the European pharmaceutical sector depends too on amending EU legislation, which is underway. Ambassador Plank outlined Belgium’s proposal and their legislative initiative for critical medicines. With this initiative Europe wants to encourage the production of critical medicines within the Union and thus reduce its dependency on external supplies, as from China for example, said the Ambassador. To this end Germany is developing a national strategy for the pharmaceutical industry, which will speed up clinical trials. 

"These are trends which Bulgaria can use and be an important participant in the strengthening of the European health system,” said Ambassador Plank. 

Ambassador Plank encouraged Bulgarian authorities to invest in health infrastructure and to use all available health data.