The EU is mobilising its RescEU medical reserve to distribute 1.2 million items of personal protective equipment to North Macedonia and Montenegro to help them cope with the pandemic. The items will be delivered from the RescEU medical reserves hosted in Germany, Belgium, Greece and Romania.

The strategic medical reserve is part of the wider RescEU component, created under the umbrella of the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. It includes a fleet of firefighting and medical evacuation planes, as well as a stockpile of medical equipment and field hospitals that can respond to health emergencies. The reserve is hosted by several Member States, who are responsible for procuring the equipment.

Background

Participating countries can request assistance from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism when the scale of an emergency overwhelms the possibilities of a country to respond on its own. It can be activated for all types of natural and man-made hazards.

The Mechanism has coordinated and co-financed the delivery of over 23 million items of assistance to 31 countries to support their COVID-19 response, including personal protective equipment, ventilators, the reinforcement of medical staff, or, more recently, vaccines.