Directive 2001/83/EC is hereby amended as follows:

1. 1.

   the following Article shall be inserted:

   ‘Article 23b

   1.

   The Commission shall adopt appropriate arrangements for the examination of variations to the terms of marketing authorisations granted in accordance with this Directive.

   2.

   The Commission shall adopt the arrangements referred to in paragraph 1 in the form of an implementing regulation. That measure, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 121(2a).

   3.

   When adopting the arrangements referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall make efforts to make it possible to submit a single application for one or more identical changes made to the terms of a number of marketing authorisations.

   4.

   A Member State may continue to apply national provisions on variations applicable at the time of entry into force of the implementing regulation to marketing authorisations granted before 1 January 1998 to medicinal products authorised only in that Member State. Where a medicinal product subject to national provisions in accordance with this Article is subsequently granted a marketing authorisation in another Member State, the implementing regulation shall apply to that medicinal product from that date.

   5.

   Where a Member State decides to continue to apply national provisions pursuant to paragraph 4, it shall notify the Commission thereof. If a notification has not been made by 20 January 2011, the implementing regulation shall apply.’

2. 2.

   the second and third subparagraphs of Article 35(1) shall be deleted.