Following previous deliveries to Italy, Spain and Croatia, more batches of FFP2 masks are delivered to North Macedonia and Montenegro from rescEU – the common European reserve of medical equipment to help countries affected by the coronavirus outbreak.
”I am proud to see further protective equipment is being mobilised from our rescEU reserve. With these new batches of protective masks to North Macedonia and Montenegro we will give protection to healthcare and other essential workers”, said Commissioner for Crisis Management, Janez Lenarčič.
EU Member States, the UK (during the transition period), Iceland, Norway, Serbia, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Turkey, take part in the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. The overall objective of the Mechanism is to strengthen cooperation between these countries in the field of civil protection, with a view to improve prevention, preparedness and response to disasters. When the scale of an emergency overwhelms the response capabilities of a country, it can request assistance via the Mechanism. The Mechanism also helps to coordinate disaster preparedness and prevention activities of national authorities and contributes to the exchange of best practices.
This support comes in addition to protective equipment delivered last week, such as hand disinfectant, towels, gloves and bedding, made available by Austria to these two countries via the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Romania and Germany, host the rescEU reserve and are therefore responsible for procuring the equipment, while the Commission finances 100% of purchase of the masks and other equipment. More deliveries will follow.
