The government wants fair medicine prices, but the Opposition Leader is defending the interests of those who want people to pay more, said a statement by the Parliamentary Secretary for Consumers and Fair Competition.

Dr Muscat was lying and it was not true the government was threatening bulk buying of medicines and was trying to remove companies and importers of medicinal products.

The Parliamentary Secretariat was working towards the prices being reduced to acceptable levels, the statement said, so as not to burden those who need them. The government wants to safeguard consumers, and is therefore prepared to consider measures such as making a price-establishing mechanism mandatory.

Importers agreed with this in 2007, and are still in favour of it but at the same time consumers are not enjoying the prices the working committee for medicine prices is arriving at.

For this reason the government is prepared to consider other measures, the statement said, such as starting to import medicines like the importers do. It does not want to take their business but wants the consumer to pay fair prices, it said.

Meanwhile in a counter statement, the PL said that the government was in total panic on the medicines issue and has now resorted to threatening importers. The PL said it had put its own valid suggestions on the issue forward some time ago.