- Germany edition
- Change edition:
- France |
- Norway |
- Spain |
- Sweden |
- Switzerland
Merck to Portugal: pay bills or lose investment
Published: 9 Jul 12 11:43 CET | Print version
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/money/20120709-43643.html
German pharma giant Merck is threatening to withdraw millions of euros of investment from Portugal – because the state-run hospitals are on average more than 500 days behind in paying their bills.
- Merck pharma closes Swiss HQ, cuts 580 jobs - Business & Money (24 Apr 12)
- Facebook holds Merck page over name fight - Business & Money (29 Nov 11)
- Merck accuses US firm of Facebook page larceny - Science & Technology (24 Nov 11)
“Our investment in research is planned for the long-term,” Merck’s Portugal manager Fritz Sacher told Monday’s Financial Times Deutschland newspaper.
"Mutual trust is an important foundation for this," he added. "But the Portuguese state's unwillingness to pay undermines this trust."
Portuguese state-run hospitals owe more than €1.5 billion in drugs bills, the paper said, while companies are waiting an average 550 days to get paid.
Other firms have already stopped delivering drugs without immediate payment, not only to Portugal but also Spain, Italy and Greece. Despite the bad publicity, some companies have refused to restock Portuguese and Spanish hospitals until debts are cleared.
But Merck has now found a different way to exert pressure on the Portuguese government, the FTD said. Portugal is of interest to pharmaceutical companies as it has well-trained and well-connected scientists, as well as good links between research institutes and hospitals. The government has also been trying to reduce bureaucracy, the paper said.
“The conditions for conceptual research and human studies are as good as in the US,” said Sacher. “But the price-performance ratio is much better here.”
A struggle is currently taking place between Portugal and the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank over a mooted €78 billion rescue package.
The international bodies have included a clause in the package that new drugs bills are to be paid within 90 days, but the Portuguese authorities want to extend this time limit in return for paying off older debts.
Merck made it clear that the multi-million-euro research investment could be made somewhere else, which would not only be an immediate loss, but could also tempt talented Portuguese scientists to leave the country to follow the work, the paper said.
The Local/hc
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
IEA: protect consumers from energy price hikes
The International Energy Agency said Friday that Germany must shield its consumers from paying too much of the cost of its ambitious switch from nuclear power and fossil fuels toward renewable energy. READ () »
German consumers keep recession at bay
Buoyant consumer confidence and increased household spending is keeping Germany, Europe's biggest economy, from recession, despite sagging exports and falling investment, data showed on Friday. READ () »
Tax evasion 'OK for Joe Normal' say Germans
Although Germans express outrage when wealthy or famous people evade taxes, many of them do the same themselves, albeit on a smaller scale, a new survey shows. READ () »
Spain and Germany fight youth employment
Germany has agreed to provide vocational training and jobs for young Spaniards starved of opportunities in their crisis-hit home country. READ () »
Car boss asks Merkel to rethink CO2 pledge
The president of the German Automobile Association (VDA) has written to Angela Merkel, asking her to retract her pledge to significantly reduce CO2 car emissions by 2025, it was reported on Tuesday. READ () »
SAP to hire hundreds of autistic IT experts
German tech company SAP said on Tuesday it wants to hire hundreds of people with autism to work as software testers and programmers. The search has, it said, begun for people “who think differently from others.” READ () »
Economists warn against German euro exit
While a third of Germans would rather pay with the old Deutsche mark than the euro, economists warn that a German exit from the currency union would result in a disaster. READ () »
Germany cool to France's EU economy plan
Germany said Friday that French President Francois Hollande's proposal for a eurozone economic government was "interesting" but reacted coolly to his call for strengthened European budgetary powers. READ () »
Au pairs rules relax for non-German families
Foreign families will soon be able to officially engage au pairs from outside the European Union, as long as they speak German at home, as the government prepares to change the law. READ () »
Germany refuses to slam French economic policy
Germany will not publicly criticize France over economic policy, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble insisted on Thursday, amid differences between Berlin and Paris over growth versus austerity in battling the eurozone debt crisis. READ () »
- 15/05 Anaemic economy feels winter chill »
- 15/05 ThyssenKrupp bins 3,000 admin jobs »
- 15/05 Pay deal for metal workers averts strike »
- 14/05 First ever strike hits Amazon's German unit »
- 14/05 Volkswagen plans giant car plant in China »
- 13/05 Metal workers enter huge warning strikes »
- 13/05 Germany launches new job creation drive »
- 10/05 German giants dazzle Dax »
- 10/05 Netto pioneers mobile phone payments »
- 08/05 Court: gay and straight tax breaks must match »
See all ads | Join the Marketplace
-
PsyShrink Frankfurt
The Expat Psychologists in Munich, Frankfurt and worldwide -
Shiply Worldwide Ltd
Shiply the Online Transport Market Place -
British Corner Shop
British Corner Shop - The online supermarket for expats -
Weiss Institut
Free yourself from Smoking addictions, Sugar craving and Alcohol addictions -
Chambervelt Rooselain & Cie Ltd.
Insurance and financial planning for English speakers in Germany -
PsyShrink Munich
The Expat Psychologists in Munich, Frankfurt and worldwide
928 jobs available
683 new jobs this week
29 new jobs today
- Manager Product Development TWC / Insecticides
- Innovation Manager International Packaging Technology (m/f)
- Marketing Management Trainee Programme in Hamburg
- Senior Process Engineer - (m/w)
- Automation Engineer - (m/w)
- Senior Buyer/ Availability Manager - (m/w) as soon as possible
- Junior Utilities Engineer - (m/w)
- HR High Potentials - Manager HR Projects (m/f)
- Financial Analyst Accounting (m/f)
- Intern Sourcing Europe Dry 2 - Fresh (f/m)
- 24/05 Sweden's economic mood dips: survey »
- 24/05 Swedish fashion grads turn to melancholy »
- 23/05 Sweden 'fails to help well-educated foreigners' »
- 23/05 Mixed results for Sweden refugee job push »
- 22/05 350 jobs lost as Ericsson shuts Swedish factory »
- 22/05 Sweden has 'lower tax burden' than Senegal »
- 21/05 Ericsson probed over suspected bribes »
- 21/05 Warning over 'long-term' Swedish export slump »
- 20/05 'Lean hospital a sign of Swedish welfare reform' »
- 20/05 H&M mulls production in South America and Africa »
- Dual Vocational Training in Europe – An Export Winner “Made in Germany”
The dual vocational training system “Made in Germany” is enjoying an amazing comeback – all over Europe.... - Let’s read together! Parents and the Promotion of Reading
It is good for children when they read a lot and actually enjoy it. - Collectivity and Representations of Community in Dance
With its streams of data and traffic, the present age is creating new forms of community. - Living Like a Poem – Sarah Kirsch Dies (05/23/2013)
On 5 May 2013, the poet Sarah Kirsch died after a short but serious illness in Heide in Schleswig-Holstein.... - Food trucks – meals on wheels
Small mobile restaurants are starting to catch on in Germany and they are often far more than your average snack wagons with Currywurst and Pommes.
- Theatre festival between the Saar and the Mosel
The Festival Perspectives in the German-French region around Saarbrücken is staging European theatre, dance and music productions. - The European Year of Citizens
2013 is the European Year of Citizens. - Europe Day, Robert Schuman and Class 4a
Enthusiasm for the idea of Europe – in the 60th European Competition, schoolchildren from Germany show what this could look like. - Relief organizations
The portals presented here provide information on the help programs offered by different organizations.
- Design Engineer Aerospace in Toulouse
- Design Feasibility Engineer / Craftsmanship Engineer (m/f)
- Director User Experience (m/f) at XING
- Ingenieur Sondergasapplikationen (m/w)
- Lead Commodity Leader (m/f)
- Lead Commodity Leader (m/f)
- Praktikum Information Management / Internship IM (m/f)
- Product Manager / Engineer (m/w) for our Search Engine
- Senior Anti-Virus Researcher (m/f)
- Senior Strategic Project Manager (f/m)
- 13:26 Festsetzung clarification - Gewinnermittlung?
- 13:17 Schwarzfahren - three strikes and you're out
- 13:13 Wanted: People for Urban exploring
- 12:32 Which garment bag would you choose?
- 12:19 Where to find Goo Gone
- 11:57 Cycling tours around Munich
- 11:51 20ies Something- feeling lost
- 11:47 Cycling tour in Niederbayern
- 11:47 Andalusia (Granada, Sevilla, Málaga, Córdoba)
- 11:38 Problem landlords and apartment renters' rights
Start trading shares, equities, forex, etc. No commission on equities; Low min. margins. Apply for a CFDs account now!
'Charming, old, beamed cottage for holiday let in Jesus Pobre, Alicante, Spain
www.littlehouseinspain.com/
Professional and qualified consultancy on all insurance and finance matters in Germany, Telephone: +49 2163 571 1740, Email: bg@albatross-assurance.com
www.albatross-assurance.com
Visiting Berlin anytime soon? Book your hotel in Berlin here.
For home-from-home holiday accommodation, search for a Berlin apartment to rent.
Your comments about this article: