On behalf of the Spanish society for health and integrative medicine, national assembly for homeopathy, on integrative medicine 

The petitioner calls on the EU to condemn the Spanish Government for having started a publicity campaign in the country’s mass media against what it calls ‘pseudo-therapies’ – ‘Plan against pseudo-therapies and pseudo-sciences’. According to the petitioner, the government has invested more than EUR 1.1 million in this campaign, which attempts to discredit certain therapies that – according to the petitioner – are beneficial for health and are recommended by thousands of professionals who prescribe them for health purposes, illness prevention and patient wellbeing. Such therapies include acupuncture, which is used to treat pain or as a homeopathic remedy, and is considered a medicinal product by the EU in accordance with Article 1 (5) of Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use. The petitioner expresses her concern over the delay in the regulation on homeopathic medicine, since on 28 April 2018 Order SSI/425/2018, of 27 April 2018, was published in the Official State Bulletin, stating that homeopathic medicines must be licenced. The petitioner calls: • for the Spanish State to be required to comply with European legislation in reference to this area of healthcare; • for a regulatory framework to be developed at European level to ensure that integrative medicine, its therapies and practice are carried out safely and are regulated academically and scientifically to respond to the growing demand from patients in this area, leaving patients free to choose the therapy they prefer and professionals free to practise their profession.