Belgium has issued a decree allowing for restrictions on the export of medicines in the event of a crisis, the country's health minister said Monday.
Frank Vandenbroucke told Belgian television station LN24 that the decree provides a legal framework for a temporary ban on the export of certain essential medicines.
Such a list has not yet been drawn up and published, but preparations are being made in case the pressure on the supply of medicines in Belgium increases further, he said.
Later in the day, he issued a statement clarifying the details of the decree.
He said the decree allows the government to limit exports in event of their unavailability, if they are essential medicines, or if there is an emergency.
The ban will apply to essential drugs which have a significant impact on a patient's life and for which there is no other approved drug with the same therapeutic effect.
The export ban will take place when the unavailability of these essential medicines is recorded by the Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products as "probable" or "certain" for at least one month, it added.
