The contact points provide the link between the Council of Europe and the actors and mechanisms in place at national level in the field of falsified medical products: government, parliament, local and regional authorities, civil society and the private sector.

Counterfeited/falsified medical products and pharmaceutical crime in general are fast upcoming phenomena which directly involve public health and need a multidisciplinary, multi-sectorial and cross-border approach. The basic principles of an adequate approach are collaboration and responsibility. Collaboration can be set up ad hoc for isolated cases but should be structured within a network. There should be collaboration between such networks to meet pre-set objectives.

International co-operation

In order to ensure the smooth implementation of the convention, each Party having signed the Convention is requested to appoint a contact point at national level to liaise with the Council of Europe Secretariat. The contact point should be within the government structure and, as much as possible, be responsible for co-ordinating national policies to combat the falsification of medical products, as well as the action of all national actors involved in this field.

National measures of co-operation

By virtue of the Convention, each Party shall take the necessary legislative and other measures to set up or strengthen mechanisms for receiving and collecting information and data, at national or local levels, and in collaboration with private sector and civil society, for the purpose of preventing and combating the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes involving threats to public health.

List of Competent Authorities Responsible for the Implementation of the Convention

 Under construction