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Health Minister warns no-deal Brexit could result in medical shortages in Germany

Health Minister Jens Spahn has warned of medical shortages in Germany in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Published: 28 March 2019 11:57 CET
Health Minister warns no-deal Brexit could result in medical shortages in Germany
Photo: DPA

In a letter to the EU Commission, the Christian Democrat (CDU) politician said that “tens of thousands” of medical items could become unavailable if Britain doesn’t secure a deal before leaving, German newspaper Handelsblatt reported Thursday.

SEE ALSO: Brexit: Germany plans to extend transition period for Brits in case of no-deal

His concerns are down to medical items, which have been approved in the UK, becoming invalid if no withdrawal agreement is struck before Britain leaves the bloc. Spahn said there could be shortages as early as next month.

The Minister called on the Commission and other EU member states to agree on a joint crisis plan with “practical procedures” to deal with different scenarios. Among the products that could become unavailable are cardiac pacemakers, blood sampling products and medical implants.

Spahn said that in the event of a disorderly or unregulated Brexit “it is reasonable to assume that tens of thousands of medical products” would lose their formal market access in the EU-27 “and would no longer be available on the European market”.

The Health Minister said he was particularly concerned about possible shortages in vitro diagnostics, which are devices used to perform tests on blood, urine and tissue samples.

SEE ALSO: OPINION: Why Germany struggles to understand the issues at heart of Brexit

“I fear that the provision of blood products to patients in Germany could be at risk from the middle of April 2019,” he warned in the letter.

No-deal Brexit could cause certificates to become invalid

Several manufacturers of medical products have approved their products in the UK. A Brexit without an agreement, however, would make the certificates issued by British institutes invalid. Affected products would then no longer be allowed to be placed on the market in Germany and the other EU states.

At the beginning of March, the German government had drawn attention to concerns over medical products shortages.

European pharmaceutical leaders also called on EU member states to do more to safeguard the supply of medicines post-Brexit earlier this month.

To see all our Brexit coverage click HERE.

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HEALTH

Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

Denmark's government has struck a deal with four other parties to raise the point in a pregnancy from which a foetus can be aborted from 12 weeks to 18 weeks, in the first big change to Danish abortion law in 50 years.

Published: 3 May 2024 08:06 CEST
Danish parties agree to raise abortion limit to 18 weeks

The government struck the deal with the Socialist Left Party, the Red Green Alliance, the Social Liberal Party and the Alternative party, last week with the formal announcement made on Monday  

“In terms of health, there is no evidence for the current week limit, nor is there anything to suggest that there will be significantly more or later abortions by moving the week limit,” Sophie Løhde, Denmark’s Minister of the Interior and Health, said in a press release announcing the deal.

The move follows the recommendations of Denmark’s Ethics Council, which in September 2023 proposed raising the term limit, pointing out that Denmark had one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Western Europe. 

READ ALSO: 

Under the deal, the seven parties, together with the Liberal Alliance and the Conservatives, have also entered into an agreement to replace the five regional abortion bodies with a new national abortion board, which will be based in Aarhus. 

From July 1st, 2025, this new board will be able to grant permission for abortions after the 18th week of pregnancy if there are special considerations to take into account. 

The parties have also agreed to grant 15-17-year-olds the right to have an abortion without parental consent or permission from the abortion board.

Marie Bjerre, Denmark’s minister for Digitalization and Equality, said in the press release that this followed logically from the age of sexual consent, which is 15 years old in Denmark. 

“Choosing whether to have an abortion is a difficult situation, and I hope that young women would get the support of their parents. But if there is disagreement, it must ultimately be the young woman’s own decision whether she wants to be a mother,” she said. 

The bill will be tabled in parliament over the coming year with the changes then coming into force on June 1st, 2025.

The right to free abortion was introduced in Denmark in 1973. 

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