Procurement during a Public Health Crisis: the Role of the European Union

Abstract:In Europe, the Public Procurement Directives allow for the deactivation of EU public procurement rules to enable member states to buy emergency supplies as quickly as possible. To improve member states' purchasing power for scarce medical resources, the EU facilitates a collaborative approach utilising procurement arrangements such as the Joint Procurement Agreement for the Procurement of Medical Countermeasures. This article reflects on the outcomes of crisis procurement in the EU compared with the UK, and examines the opportunities that may follow in its wake. The vulnerability of the public procurement market in the field of public health has been exposed during the Covid-19 crisis. The EU's role in facilitating a collaborative approach to the procurement and distribution of medical resources looks to be a success, suggesting a legitimate rationale for the EU to take a more significant role on behalf of member states in procurement during a health crisis.