The discussion on the matter should be closed today competition law in the Finance and Productive Activities committees of the Chamber. The last point, probably the most delicate, which will have to be discussed in committee today is that relating to liberalization of pharmacies, Article 32 of the bill in question.
It is no coincidence that the hottest chapter on which a real tug of war has been going on for years between Federfarma, the association of pharmacies, and the Fnpi, the national federation of Italian parapharmacies, has been excluded. The question is open and it is not excluded that it could jeopardize the closure of the discussion on the competition bill during the day, which in any case has reached its final stages in the commission.
The current text issued by the Council of Ministers does not provide for the sale of Class C drugs even in parapharmacies. The ownership, according to the text of the Executive, would remain in charge of the pharmacies alone. However, the choice made is to allow a little turnover through joint-stock companies which will also be able to own pharmacies. for this reason the limit of four licenses per company disappears from the text. Today in Italy there are 18.200 pharmacies, a figure on average compared to other countries.
In the marathon of these days in the committee, the article that eliminates the monopoly of Poste Italiane in the delivery of notifications and fines. Yesterday the commission approved the restructuring plan of the national network of fuel distributors. According to this plan, the owner of the petrol pump will have to register in the Mise registry office within six months of the entry into force of the law. In the event that the distributor finds himself in a situation of irregularity, he will be required to draw up a declaration of incompatibility under penalty of fines ranging from 2500 to 7000 euros.
The text of the Competition bill it should arrive in the courtroom in Montecitorio on September 21st and be approved by the end of the month before arriving in the Senate. The government's goal is to definitively approve the law by mid-December, linking the measure to the 2016 Stability Law.
