Countries and destinations covered

These groupings help you find the right country. Each one sets its own medicine rules.

  • Detailed guides: France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland, Greece and Turkey.
  • Further EU destinations: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Ireland has its own guide in UK & Ireland.
  • Other European destinations: Albania, Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Kosovo, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Ukraine and Vatican City. The UK has its own main guide.

Use the EU framework and check the national record

EMA links to each country's national medicine register. Use the national record and current product information to identify your exact medicine. An EU-wide authorisation on its own does not mean the product has launched, is in pharmacies or is reimbursed in a given country. Outside the EU and EEA, start with that country's own regulator. An EU decision does not grant local approval there.

Online pharmacy rules vary by country

The European Commission explains that national rules may limit online sales of prescription medicines. Where the common EU online pharmacy logo applies, click it through to the official national register and match the pharmacy. A logo image alone proves nothing. A verified seller still may not have permission to ship every medicine to your country. Ask whether you are arranging local collection or delivery across a border.

Pick the country before you compare prices

Compare the total cost of suitable, lawful treatment: assessment, medicine, dispensing, delivery and follow-up. First find out whether a pharmacy will accept your prescription and supply the exact product. Then check reimbursement or the private price. If you travel to collect, add travel and storage costs, and check what your home country lets you bring back.

Each country gives its own answer

A medicine may be authorised but not on sale, available only on prescription, unfunded for your condition, or supplied only through a special access scheme. An unclear status does not mean a ban. Switzerland's limited personal import allowance shows why one Europe-wide quantity rule would mislead you. Get a country-specific answer for each medicine, formulation, purpose and import method, and check again before you act.

Country guides in this region

Sources

Your own medicine leaflet and prescriber come first. A source from another country does not mean the same rule applies in the UK.

  1. EMA: national registers of authorised medicines ema.europa.eu
  2. European Commission: checking online medicine retailers health.ec.europa.eu
  3. Your Europe: prescriptions in another EU country europa.eu
  4. Swissmedic: entering Switzerland with medicines swissmedic.ch

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