Commission To Deliver NI Protocol Medicines Proposal Around 1245CET

European Commission VP Maros Sefcovic and Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides are set to hold a press conference later today to announce the Commission's proposals for ensuring supply of medicines into Northern Ireland amidst ongoing talks between Brussels and Westminster over the NI protocol.

• Presser due to start around 1245CET (1145GMT, 0645ET), with livestreamlink here.
• At present, when the grace period on medicines transport from Great Britain to Northern Ireland expires in 2022, logistics, regulatory compliance, and testing facilities for medicines would need to be located in the EU or Northern Ireland.
• Euractiv reports that the proposal would see an exception made to allow facilities to be located in Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales). The move would also benefit some EU states that recieve a substantial proportion of their medicines from UK producers, including Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta.
• The change could also see drugs approved by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency allowed to be marketed in NI before approval from the European Medicines Agency.
• The issue of medicines has been a major obstacle in EU-UK talks on the protocol. With negotiaitons between Sefcovic and UK Cabinet Office minister Lord Frost set to continue into the new year, this proposal could smooth the path towards a compromise.