9.9.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 218/13

1.

The European Commission has received and registered under number 2006/4712 — SG/CDC/2006/A/6327 a number of complaints concerning restrictions on the establishment of pharmacies in Spain. The Commission has already dealt with a similar issue in Complaint No 2001/5261.

2.

Given the significant number of complaints it has received on this subject, the Commission, anxious to respond swiftly and to inform those concerned while making the most economical use of its administrative resources, is publishing this acknowledgment of receipt in the Official Journal of the European Union and on the internet at:

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/complaints/receipt/index_en.htm

3.

The complaint is currently being examined by the Commission in the light of the Community legislation on freedom of establishment in the internal market (Article 43 of the EC Treaty). The complainants will be kept informed, through the same channels, of the results of this examination and of any follow-up action that the Commission may decide to take. The Commission would also point out that in press release IP/06/858 of 28 June 2006, it stated that it had decided to send a reasoned opinion to Spain concerning current national restrictions on the establishment of pharmacies (see

http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/06/858&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en)

4.

Should the Commission need to contact the Spanish authorities, it will do so without mentioning the identity of the complainants in order to protect their rights. The complainants may, however, authorise the Commission to reveal their identity in any contacts with the Spanish authorities.