Sirpa Pietikäinen· PPE

Confirmed

Up to 80 percent of active pharmaceutical ingredients come to Europe from China and India.

Omissions

• The 'up to 80%' figure represents the upper bound of estimates, with some sources citing lower figures in the 60-70% range
• This dependency figure includes both China and India combined, not individually
• The EESC document was published in October 2024, based on data from 2023-2024
• The European Commission Staff Working Document SWD(2025) 263 from September 2025 cites similar dependency figures for third-country API sourcing

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Economic and Social Committee (EESC) - Opinion on Securing Europe's medicine supplyAccording to current data, up to 80% of APIs used in Europe and about 40% of finished medicines sold in Europe come from China or India
• PrimaryEuropean Commission - Staff Working Document SWD(2025) 263 finalDocument analyzing EU pharmaceutical dependencies and supply chain vulnerabilities including reliance on third-country API sourcing
• AcademicPharmacia Journal - The European Union's dependence on imports of active pharmaceutical ingredientsUp to 80% of the chemical substances required for pharmaceutical production in the EU are sourced or synthesized outside its territory