The European Commission announced on Thursday 14 May that it has suspended the delivery of masks to Member States until further notice, after learning that the FFP2 masks for healthcare professionals did not comply with EU standards.
The United Kingdom, and all Member States that have received them have been alerted by the Commission to the problem reported by Poland, via its Minister of Health. The Netherlands had a similar problem. The issue is: masks manufactured in China and delivered by a supplier in Germany.
Asked by the press about a possible failure of the system of checks, a spokesman for the institution referred the Member States to their responsibilities, pointing out that quality controls are their responsibility. According to him, the Commission took care to ensure that they were usable "with all due diligence to the supplier". Member States must carry out their own checks. The Commission expects them to report any similar problems to it in order to decide on the next steps.
The products at issue are part of the first batch of 1.5 million masks that were delivered on 8 May to 17 EU countries and the UK as part of a joint purchase of 10 million units, financed by the Commission through the Emergency Support Instrument. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)