SWEDEN/FRANCE – ECJ
June 1st, 2005
BY KEITH NUTHALLTHE SWEDISH government will have to review its state monopoly system for the retail sale of medicine, after the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that it illegally impeded the import of pharmaceuticals from other European Union (EU) member states.A state-run company, Apoteket, has controlled all sales of medicine since 1970, and it is free to source its medicines arbitrarily. Even though there is no rule saying it must buy Swedish medicines, the court has ruled its purchasing policy must "be adjusted...to ensure no discrimination exists ...
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