José Luís da Cruz Vilaça, founder of Cruz Vilaça Advogados, former judge of the Court of Justice and former president of the General Court of the European Union, was one of the speakers at the commemorative session of the 25th anniversary of Affordable Medicines Europe, which took place on the 21st of June in Brussels and had the participation of Mario Monti, former Italian Prime Minister and former European Commissioner. The session also commemorated the 30th anniversary of the European Single Market.

The commemoration event brought together several European personalities with a relevant role in the last two decades in the process of integrating the Internal Market and stood out for the debate of ideas that brought Cruz Vilaça and Mário Monte together in an interesting conversation about the historical development of the internal market , the situation it is currently in, the rumour mill where it is headed and how this integration should be handled in the future.

The process of European integration, which began right after the Second World War, went through several stages, with long adaptation processes that have culminated in a gradual deepening of the European Union.

 Affordable Medicines Europe is a unique Brussels-based not-for-profit organisation that brings together the European industry of parallel distribution of licensed pharmaceuticals, championing as a child the industry and the benefits of its products. The parallel distribution of pharmaceuticals creates competition in an industry where patents give the rights holder a monopoly. This is very positive and healthy for the European economy, health systems and patients.