Source: European Parliament
Question for written answer E-003083/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Joachim Streit (Renew)
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how critical shortages of vaccine-related products, PPE, diagnostics and medicines are for crisis response. In spring 2020, PPE had run out almost everywhere in the world, leading to significant unmet needs. What is more, EU-based companies – in particular SMEs – had to suspend R&D investment, as during the pandemic, one thing became clear: without a secure stockpiling market, they risked massive losses.
The EU stockpiling strategy presented in July 2025 aims to address shortages of medicines, vaccines, PPE and CBRN counter-measures by building a coordinated storage network, targeted stockpiling planning and doubling funding to the European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) to EUR 200 million by 2027.
- 1.So far, how has the Commission come to specific decisions with the Member States as regards the minimum quantities and product types of CBRN-specific countermeasures (antidotes, PPE, vaccines, diagnostics) to be mandatorily stockpiled, and to what extent has innovation by SMEs been explicitly taken into account or effectively disadvantaged owing to exclusion criteria as part of this process?
- 2.How does the Commission plan to ensure that future EU stockpiling programmes (e.g. through rescEU, HERA) do not only store existing products from large suppliers, but also ensure market access for innovative SME products that are not yet established on the market?
Submitted: 24.7.2025