The Beneluxa Initiative has issued a statement calling for a more unified European approach to access to, and affordability of, pharmaceutical products. The statement places regional payer collaboration within the wider European debate on pricing, EU HTA implementation, supply security and the future use of joint purchasing tools.
The initiative, which brings together Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, says European countries should deepen cooperation on pricing and reimbursement while respecting national competences. It calls for stronger information-sharing, faster uptake of EU HTA Regulation outputs, and more streamlined pricing and reimbursement procedures on a mutually agreed collaborative basis.
The statement also supports exploring collaborative approaches to pricing and purchasing, including mechanisms linked to the Critical Medicines Act. It goes further by calling for a debate on a more demand-driven system, under which countries would define their unmet needs and willingness to pay for products meeting those needs.
Beneluxa has continued to publish meeting reports and policy updates in recent years, including its July 2025 position on the Critical Medicines Act and the December 2025 appointment of Michal Stanak as its first general manager. The June statement nevertheless gives the initiative a more explicit access-policy position at a point when EU HTA, critical medicines policy and international pricing debates are becoming more closely connected.
Beneluxa followed the statement with a Steering Committee meeting at the National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (Institut national d’assurance maladie-invalidité / Rijksinstituut voor Ziekte- en Invaliditeitsverzekering, INAMI/RIZIV) in Brussels on 15 June. Member states discussed national policy updates, HTA, pricing and reimbursement, information-sharing, the Payer Hub, the International Horizon Scanning Initiative and the implications of Most Favoured Nation pricing.
The statement sets out the policy direction that smaller and medium-sized payer countries want to bring into EU-level discussions. Its practical significance will depend on whether Beneluxa members can turn this shared policy position into concrete cooperation on evidence use, price negotiation and purchasing.
Source: Beneluxa Initiative
Link: Statement of the Beneluxa Initiative on a more unified European approach to access to and affordability of pharmaceutical products
Related link: Steering Committee Meeting of the Beneluxa Initiative in Brussels, Belgium
Date: 10 June 2026
