The Council of Europe participated in the last phase of the MISMED operation held in Paris, France, on 13-15 December 2017. Funded by Europol and co-headed by the Central Office against attacks towards the environment and public health (OCLAESP) and the Finish Custom authorities, this operation was aimed at tackling the trafficking of misused medicines.
Gathering together authorities from several European countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Hungary, Italy, Serbia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), this seminar presented the results of a questionnaire sent to these countries which highlights that trafficking in misused medicines is a growing phenomenon. In particular, the purpose of this phenomenon is psychotropic, recreational, performance enhancing as well as the release within the licit chain of medicines prescribed in the framework of a medical treatment. The MEDICRIME convention was stressed as the only existing legal instrument that can legitimately fight against the falsification of medical products worldwide.Home - Latest News
Covid 19
At a time when the Covid-19 epidemic is posing unprecedented challenges to the health sector, the Council of Europe calls on governments to be extremely vigilant against counterfeit or falsified medicines and medical products. Faced with this threat, states can rely on the MEDICRIME Convention to safeguard public health and target the criminal behaviour of those who, like criminal networks, take advantage of the loopholes in our systems and of the current crisis.
"In recent years, occurrences of counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes have increased worldwide. These crimes endanger public health, and affect patients and their confidence in the legal marketplace.
Even more profitable than drug trafficking, this new form of crime has an undeniable advantage for criminals: they go largely unpunished or receive only mild sanctions. Even when states take strict measures to regulate the production and distribution of medical products and devices, these measures often prove insufficient, especially when criminal networks find gaps in national legislations allowing them to make substantial profits at the expense of people’s lives and health. The MEDICRIME Convention was drafted to protect vulnerable patients and their right to safe access to medicines of appropriate quality, and to fight against organised crime. As the first and only international treaty dealing with this problem, the convention aims at prosecuting the counterfeiting of medical products and similar crimes, protecting the rights of victims and promoting national and international co-operation."
Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni
Deputy Secretary General of the Council of Europe
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