EC urges Romania to cut payment arrears towards pharmacies

The European Commission decided on Wednesday, February 12, to issue a reasoned opinion to Romania for failing to correctly apply the regulations of EU Directive 2011/7 on combating late payments in commercial transactions, according to a statement from the Community Executive quoted by Economica.net.

The Directive requires public authorities to pay their suppliers on time, setting a positive example in the fight against poor payment behaviour in the private sector.

According to the Commission, the Romanian public health insurance body is significantly delaying payments to independent pharmacies for medicines supplied to patients under the national health insurance system.

The delay in payments by the Romanian authorities is negatively affecting the entire supply chain and risks leading to the bankruptcy of Romanian pharmacies.

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