GREECE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Angela Livgieri and Dimitra Panopoulou, ALG Manousakis Law Firm
low medicine prices, which are, on average, half the EU level and up to five times lower than in certain European countries, such as Germany or Austria. These price differentials encourage parallel exports, thereby reducing domestic availability. To safeguard public health, EOF periodically imposes temporary export bans and requires pharmaceutical companies to submit daily sales data and early warnings of sup- ply disruptions. In addition, the Ministry of Health has implemented the Electronic System for Monitoring the Distribution of Medicines, which tracks stock levels and movement of selected critical medicines, improv- ing transparency and control throughout the supply chain. More specifically, in recent years, particularly follow- ing the COVID-19 pandemic, EOF has increasingly issued decisions imposing temporary bans on paral- lel exports in order to safeguard the domestic sup- ply of medicines (the most recent being Decision No 142654 dated 21 November 2025). Such decisions impose temporary measures applicable for a period of three months. EOF has clarified that these measures may be fully or partially lifted, amended, extended, or replaced by subsequent decisions should market supply conditions change. Within the framework of its regulatory responsibilities, EOF continues to closely monitor the availability of medicinal products, investi- gating cases of limited supply and market withdrawals reported by: • Marketing Authorisation Holders (MAHs); • patients; and • healthcare professionals. The aforementioned regulatory measures were subse- quently examined at the judicial level. By Decision No 125334/22.11.2022, EOF imposed a temporary ban on parallel exports and intra-Community distribution of 75 medicinal products, on the grounds that priority must be given to adequately covering the needs of patients residing in Greece. The Panhellenic Associa- tion of Pharmaceutical Wholesalers (PAPW), a public law legal entity, sought the annulment of that deci- sion before the Council of State. However, the Fourth Chamber of the Conseil d’ Etat (ΣτΕ/Supreme Admin- istrative Court) via its Decision No 2214/2023 rejected the application filed by the PAPW.
Among its principal arguments, PAPW contended before the court that the challenged EOF decision establishes a measure that: • is neither necessary nor appropriate for the protec- tion of public health; • imposes a disproportionate restriction on the free movement of goods; • lacks the required reasoning and substantiation; • contravenes the Constitution, national law, EU law and Article 81 of Directive 2001/83/EC; and • fails to demonstrate the existence of a risk to pub- lic health, thereby rendering the necessity and appropriateness of the contested measure unestablished. According to the Conseil d’ Etat, holders of whole- sale distribution authorisations, within the framework of their public service obligations, are required at all times to ensure the supply of appropriate medicinal products to pharmacies and other entities authorised to dispense medicines to the public, so that the needs of patients within the Greek territory are adequately met. The Conseil d’ Etat further emphasised that the export activity of these economic operators is sub- ject to the condition that the immediate availability of medicines in the domestic market is safeguarded, ensuring patients’ access to appropriate treatment and preventing the creation of therapeutic gaps det- rimental to public health. The decision reiterates that the objective of the EOF is the protection of public health through ensuring ade- quate market supply of appropriate medicinal prod- ucts. To this end, EOF is vested with the authority to adopt any lawful and appropriate preventive or cor- rective measures necessary to ensure smooth market supply and to avoid shortages, thereby preventing the risk of patients being unable to access the required pharmaceutical treatment. Moreover, EOF is entitled, following an assessment of data concerning supply conditions in Greece, to impose, for a limited period, a ban on the export of specific products from Greek territory, whether to third countries or within the frame- work of intra-Community trade. Such measures may be imposed where it is duly established that parallel export activity may jeopardise the stable, safe and
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