Until now, Law 266/2008 on drugstores required a minimum number of 4000 inhabitants to open a new community drugstore in the rural areas.
Only one drugstore was authorized to serve the inhabitants in localities with population below 4000 people.
“To stimulate new openings in rural areas and ensuring drugstore services in underprivileged regions, the draft act proposes cancellation of the demographic criterion in the rural environment, in accordance with European Union requirements. In fact, this was a discriminatory criterion which did not favor new drugstores in the rural areas,” Health Minister Ion Bazac said.
The demographic criterion to open new drugstores, however, will remain valid for urban areas until the end of 2010, which is the transitory period agreed upon with the EU.
Under the new act, the fees to open new drugstores are of 3000 lei (EUR1-RON4.2884) for urban areas and of RON1500 for rural ones.