by Paola Testori-Coggi, Director General for Health and Consumers

The signing by Health Ministers at the Council of 20 June in Luxembourg of the Joint Procurement Agreement for Medical Countermeasures marks a new achievement in our work to protect European citizens from cross-border health threats such as communicable diseases. The Joint procurement agreement defines the framework for common purchases and   enables   EU countries to procure pandemic vaccines and other medical countermeasures as a group, rather than individually.

Through the united strength of the signatories, Joint Procurements make it possible for Member States to ensure that pandemic vaccines and medicines are available in sufficient quantities - and at fair prices - should a cross border health threat emerge.

This mechanism will benefit all EU countries, in particular those which encountered difficulties in purchasing vaccines developed for the H1N1 pandemic in 2009. Indeed, it was this pandemic, and the lessons learned from it, which prompted the European Commission to take action on this front.

Yet this Agreement reaches beyond vaccines for pandemics. Member States could benefit from extending the agreement to cover the purchase of medical countermeasures for other infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B or HPV as well.

Signing the Agreement is strictly voluntary; to date 14 EU countries have committed to this ground-breaking measure. An additional eight countries have agreed to sign a letter of intent in view of signing the Joint Procurement Agreement in the future.  I congratulate those who have signed the Agreement and I call on all States who have yet to lend their support to this important initiative to seize the opportunities it offers and sign  as soon as possible, for the protection of their national citizens and our European population.