On 6-7 May 2015, the 43rd meeting of the European Medicines Agencies Co-operation on Legal Issues (EMACOLEX) working group will take place in Riga. This working group was established by the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) to support the efforts of the European Medicines Regulatory Network (EMRN) with regard to human and veterinary medicines. EMACOLEX is a discussion forum at which  representatives reach agreement, if possible, on common principles to be applied throughout the European Medicines Regulatory Network. It is also a forum for exchanging views on legal issues and experience in dealing with national issues.

A variety of questions will be on the agenda of the EMACOLEX meeting:

• Discussions and an exchange of views and positions concerning key issues of Community pharmaceutical legislation in order to adopt a common approach, if possible. This concerns both existing legislation and proposals for new Community legislation;
• Analysis of and discussions on cases in the pharmaceutical field at the European Court of Justice and courts of first instance;
• Exchange of information about national court cases, especially with regard to their possible influence on similar cases in other Member States;
• Discussions on national legal issues and problems in the context of the EMRN, thus providing a comparison of legal solutions in different Member States;
• Investigation and, where appropriate, recommendation of improvements to Community pharmaceutical legislation.

EMACOLEX meetings are planned and organised by the national competent authority of the Member State that holds the EU presidency at the time of the meeting. For Latvia, this is the State Agency of Medicines. The working group meets at least twice a year. The meeting in Riga will bring together around 60 participants from the European Economic Area, the European Commission and other countries outside the EU (Canada).