Victims of Thalidomide

23.10.2014

Question for written answer P-008296-14
to the Commission
Rule 130
Elena Valenciano Martínez-Orozco (S&D)

Today we learned that a Spanish court has annulled the compensation awarded by another Spanish court to the victims of Thalidomide in Spain. The judgment states that the time limit for compensation claims by victims has expired and finds in favour of the pharmaceutical company Grünenthal. The German company is thereby exonerated from paying the compensation awarded by the 2012 judgment.

The Spanish courts continue to hold the view that more research is needed into the link between Thalidomide and the physical and emotional damage which has not only not expired but is increasingly evident and extensive in the hundreds of European victims of Grünenthal’s ill-fated product.

Does the Commission intend to assist those affected by Thalidomide in their legal battle against the German pharmaceutical company? Can the Commission mediate to ensure that the victims receive some compensation for the drug’s serious impact on their lives? can the Commission assist the victims?