On 5 October 2026, during the European Parliament debate in Strasbourg (France) on Protecting patients from illegal and falsified medicines sold online, the European Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, highlighted the Council of Europe's MEDICRIME Convention.
In his intervention, the Commissioner emphasised two core ideas: protecting patients and the need for criminal-law cooperation against illegal markets operating across borders. Falsified medicines do not only put health at risk but undermine confidence in legitimate medical products. He called for a coordinated response combining pharmaceutical verification, customs controls, oversight of digital platforms and cooperation between competent authorities.
In that context, the MEDICRIME Convention provides the legal framework for such a coordinated response. It establishes concrete, legally binding mechanisms to ensure that such coordination is effective among the States Parties such as national contact points (Art. 22), domestic inter-agency cooperation (Art. 17), international cooperation in criminal matters (Art. 21) and a Committee of the Parties to monitor implementation (Arts. 23 - 25). However, these mechanisms can only be effective if States become Parties to the Convention and designate the relevant contact points.
Olivér Várhelyi also stressed platforms' responsibilities to verify traders, respond promptly to authorities' notices and remove illegal content and warned about products marketed as food supplements that fall directly within the rules on medicinal products. Alongside all this, the Commissioner stressed the importance of raising patient awareness and acting in a coordinated way against criminal networks, bringing together health authorities, police, customs and judicial systems.
The MEDICRIME Convention is the only legally binding criminal-law treaty covering falsified medical products and other similar crimes involving threats to public health. It provides for prevention, cooperation, prosecution and the protection of victims and witnesses.
Várhelyi's intervention illustrates how MEDICRIME's criminal-law framework complements pharmaceutical safeguards and action against illegal online sales. Its effective implementation by all States Parties is what will make a truly coordinated, patient-centred response possible.
Link to the European Commissioner for Health’s remarks (6:55 min)
