Source: European Union 2
HaDEA has published the EU4Health call for tenders HADEA/2026/OP/0020: Capacity reservation for personal protective equipment pilot (EU FAB+ PPE pilot)
The purpose of this call is to advance the EU FAB+ PPE pilot, an initiative designed to strengthen the EU’s capacity to ensure rapid availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the event of future public health emergencies. Concretely, the call aims to conclude up to six multiple sourcing direct service contracts for the reservation of capacity in the form of contractor-managed stockpiles (task 1) and reservation of manufacturing capacity (task 2) of personal protective equipment medical countermeasures (MCMs), namely nitrile examination gloves and FFP2 respiratory masks. Both tasks shall also include a priority right to purchase respectively stockpiled MCM or MCM manufactured under the reservation.
This call is divided into two lots:
- Lot 1: Nitrile examination gloves: reservation of capacities and priority purchase right
- Lot 2: FFP2 masks: reservation of capacities and priority purchase right
Each lot will be awarded to a maximum of three tenderers, each contract for a minimum value of three million euro, with for three (03) years (i.e. 36 months) duration.
Inspired by EU FAB, created as an EU mechanism to ensure vaccine manufacturing capacities are operational and can be swiftly activated, the European Commission is now expanding this model towards nitrile examination gloves and FFP2 masks, as both product categories faced significant shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic despite being essential to protect healthcare workers.
Total budget: € 34 000 000
Interested parties are invited to apply via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 15 October 2026, 12.00 (CEST).
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the European Union’s dependencies on non-EU producers of MCM, particularly from Southeast Asia. For many critical MCM, notably personal protective equipment (PPE), EU manufacturing capacities and availability of supply chain materials were not sufficient to meet European demand.
In view of these challenges related to EU manufacturing capacities, the European Commission, through the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), has taken various actions to address dependencies and strengthen EU manufacturing capacities for critical MCMs. One key action has been EU FAB, which aims at reserving manufacturing capacity to produce vaccines in the EU in the case of a public health crisis.
Inspired by EU FAB, the Commission is now expanding this model towards other MCM of interest. As a first pilot, in this call for tenders HERA is focusing on examination gloves and FFP2 masks. Both product categories experienced significant shortages during COVID-19 and remain essential for protecting healthcare workers and other critical personnel during public health emergencies.
EU4Health is the fourth and largest of the EU health programmes. The EU4Health programme goes beyond an ambitious response to the COVID-19 crisis to address the resilience of European healthcare systems. The programme provides funding to national authorities, health organisations and other bodies through grants and public procurement, contributing to a healthier Europe.
HaDEA manages the vast majority of the total EU4Health budget and implements the programme by managing calls for proposals and tenders from 2021 to 2027.