The reaction of Health Minister Thanos Pleuris was prompted statements by official opposition leader Alexis Tsipras about drug shortages.

“Mr Tsipras is once again succumbing to circumstances. He is engaged in promotion and slogans without any proposals,” the Minister of Health said in a statement.

“And it looks like he means speculation when he knows that he himself, as a government, has changed the way drug prices are set in the interests of the multinational interests of the pharmaceutical industry, and as an opposition, he has not. to support any rescue measures from expensive drugs that have provided the population with more than 450 million discounts,” says Mr. Plyuris.

Earlier, Mr Tsipras, who met with the board of the Pharmaceutical Association of Attica, accused the government of “tolerating speculation” and called for immediate action to address the drug shortage.

“The problem of lack of medicines haunts all states and countries, such as the USA, Germany, England, France and all EU countries. with much more expensive drugs, they face more problems than Greece.

The lack of raw materials is forcing countries to ban the sale of certain agents, impose a ceiling on the purchase of medicines, and jeopardize the availability of medicines in their hospitals.

Our country faces the problem to a lesser extent, thanks to the measures taken, and also due to the presence of a strong domestic pharmaceutical industry.

Already in the summer, we adopted a law on the provision of scarce medicines, provisions against which SYRIZA voted.

We have ensured that our hospitals are fully stocked, and through emergency imports and replacement with Greek generics, we are also combating drug shortages in private pharmacies.

At the same time, we have implemented the largest parallel export ban and have already closed pharmaceutical warehouses that do not meet the requirements, and inspections of pharmaceutical factories and pharmaceutical warehouses are ongoing.

Therefore, we are taking all measures to cope with the suffering of citizens and normalize the market.

In all other countries that face a bigger problem than Greece, there has not been an irresponsible opposition trying to wrest small parties from this global problem.

Mr. Tsipras, again, succumbs to circumstances. He also popularizes slogans without any suggestions.

He seems to be referring to speculation when he knows how the government changed the way medicines are priced in favor of the multinational interests of the pharmaceutical industry, and how the opposition did not support any measures to save money on expensive drugs, which provided the population with more than 450 million discounts.

His decision to meet not with all institutional partners, but with the outgoing president of the Athens Pharmaceutical Association shows that he remembers the people who promised him that pharmacies would become SYRIZA voting centers, and all he cares about is his party benefit in the field of public health. cargo”.