Joint Procurement Agreement of medical countermeasures adopted

The agreement was drawn up by the Commission to help EU countries have equitable access and purchasing power for procuring pandemic vaccines and medications. The mechanism should boost EU preparedness for any serious cross-border health threats.

The outbreak in 2009 of H1N1 pandemic influenza highlighted weaknesses in the access and purchasing power of EU countries to obtain pandemic vaccines and medications. In 2010, the European Council requested the Commission to start the preparation of joint procurement of vaccines in the frame of a future pandemic.

Provisions for the joint procurement of medical countermeasures are included in Article 5 of Decision 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border threats to health. As of April 2020, the Joint Procurement Agreement has been signed by 37 countries, including all EU and EEA countries, the UK, Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Kosovo^*.

The JPA:

• Determines the practical arrangements governing the mechanism
• Defines the decision-making process with regard to the choice of the procedures
• Organises the assessment of the tenders and the award of the contract

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^* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.

Ensuring proper preparedness

The aim of the joint procurement mechanism is to secure more equitable access to specific medical countermeasures and an improved security of supply, together with more balanced prices for the participating EU countries.

In order to be adequately prepared for an outbreak of a serious cross-border threat to health, the institutions of the EU, together with countries that have joined the JPA, may engage in a joint procurement procedure with a view to purchase:

• Vaccines
• Antivirals
• Medical countermeasures for serious cross-border threats to health

Related information

• Article 5 Decision 1082/2013/EU
• Signing ceremonies for Joint Procurement Agreement
• All key documents on Joint Procurement of medical countermeasures.