European Union negotiators on Tuesday reached an agreement  on rules that aim to bolster the bloc's supply chains for essential medicines and reduce its dependence on drug manufacturers outside the bloc. The rules aim to combat the drug shortages that have occasionally affected the bloc in the past few years, where pharmacies have run low on certain medicines, including painkillers, antibiotics and fever medicine for children.  What has the EU said of the medicines agreement? "With today's agreement, we are taking practical action to reduce our vulnerabilities, diversify supply chains and strengthen Europe's capacity to produce critical medicines and their ingredients closer to home," said Cypriot Health Minister Neophytos Charalambides, whose country currently holds the rotating EU Council presidency. Charalambides said that people should no longer have to be worried about whether they could obtain essential medicines from their pharmacy or hospital.…