Maria da Graça Carvalho was invited to participate in the meeting "Can EU citizens afford their medicines? The economic crisis and access to medicines in Europe" which was organised by European Public Health Alliance EPHA in the European Parliament.
Maria da Graça Carvalho was represented in the conference by her colleague MEP Maria do Céu Patrão Neves and her intervention focused on the outline Horizon 2020.
This high-level meeting revolved around various political processes linked with the economic crisis. Some of the topics discussed were the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy, as well as pharmaceutical legislation aiming to ensure that people living in Europe have access to a wide range of quality and affordable medicines. The gathering tried to assess the impact of cost-containment policies put in place in some EU member states. Participants debated which role new innovation models and instruments could play in ensuring the affordability of medicines.