The Joint Procurement Agreement is a legal and operational mechanism which enables participating countries to join forces in the face of a serious health threat and to jointly purchase essential supplies, such as medicines and medical equipment. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, it allowed participating countries to acquire personal protective equipment, needles and syringes for COVID-19 vaccination, ventilators and medicines under equal conditions.
Participation in the Joint Procurement Agreement allows a country to benefit from the combined purchasing power of EU Member States and participating countries, enabling improved access and greater security of supply for medical countermeasures in a health emergency through pooling needs and creating economies of scale. The Joint Procurement Agreement also improves participating countries’ preparedness for serious cross-border diseases, by having contracts for essential medical countermeasures in place before major outbreaks occur.
Most recently, the Commission signed a joint procurement framework contract to supply up to 665,000 doses of the zoonotic influenza (avian flu) vaccine from Seqirus, with an option for an additional 40 million doses. This contract, aimed at preventing avian flu, ensures that participating countries have access to medical countermeasures if needed.
The Commission – via its Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) – manages the procurement procedures under the Joint Procurement Agreement in close collaboration with the participating countries. These countries can then purchase the contracted products as needed, using their national budgets.
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