Iceland, Finland and Norway are the latest countries to have signed the Joint Procurement Agreement (JPA) to procure medical countermeasures.
As of April
2020, the JPA has been signed
by 27 EU countries, Iceland, Norway and the UK. Besides the above
three countries, in 2020 the agreement has also been signed by Poland and
Sweden.
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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. The JPA was initiated following the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak and approved by the Commission on 10 April 2014.
The mechanism is aimed at ensuring equitable access to specific medical
countermeasures, an improved security of supply and balanced prices for the
participating countries. 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.
The institutions in the countries that have joined the JPA may engage in a
joint procurement procedure with a view to purchase vaccines, antivirals and medical
countermeasures for serious cross-border threats to health.
Key JPA documents can be found here.
Source: European
Commission
Image credit: European Commission
