A joint European procurement initiative has been able to secure at considerable scale and at short notice protective clothing and medical equipment. Some producers have exceeded the quantities requested by the 25 member states taking part in the procurement. The European Commission used a negotiated procedure without publication of a contract notice due to the extreme urgency. The procurement for most equipment was launched only a week ago, and should be available two weeks after the member states sign the contracts with the bidders. Read the full story here.