MATT Hancock is wrong to claim that the UK has now joined an EU joint procurement scheme for coronavirus equipment, according to Brussels.
The Tory Health Secretary said in Tuesday’s press briefing that Number 10 had signed up to the medical equipment purchasing programme, having initially failed to register.
But EU officials told the Independent that Tory ministers have merely indicated they would be “open to participating in any future schemes”.
The joint procurement scheme has placed four tenders since the Covid-19 outbreak began, including three for personal protective equipment and one for ventilators. No equipment has been distributed yet, with delivery arrangements agreed individually by member states.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: UK 'missed' eight meetings with EU leaders on virus
The UK still has access during the transition period of its exit from the bloc. Yet the Tory government did not sign up despite officials attending four meetings in Brussels where it was discussed.
Initially a Downing Street spokesperson had said it was because the UK was no longer a member of the bloc, but Number 10 subsequently said there had been communication problems which led to the UK missing out on the scheme.
It was later revealed that between February 13 and March 30 the Government missed eight conference calls or meetings about coronavirus between EU heads of state or health ministers. Tory ministers later made arrangements to join lower-level meetings between officials.
The deadline for the fourth round of purchasing via the scheme was recently extended to April 12, well after UK ministers claimed they had missed the deadline.
Hancock said on Tuesday that there was “no political decision” not to register, adding: “We joined so we are now members of that scheme.”
However, an EU official told the Independent: “They are not participating in any of the existing schemes but they have indicated that they would be open to participating in any future schemes.”
READ MORE: UK official says EU ventilator call WAS political then denies it
Earlier on Tuesday, Foreign Office permanent secretary Sir Simon McDonald told MPs on the foreign affairs committee that ministers had taken a political decision not to join the scheme.
However, after the Health Secretary rejected such claims, McDonald wrote to the committee to retract his comment, stating that there was no political motive and that “owing to an initial communication problem the UK did not receive an invitation in time to join”.
Asked if the civil servant had been pressured to reissue his statement, Hancock said: “It is important that select committees are given accurate information and that’s why he corrected what he had said. He took the opportunity to correct the record very quickly and in a very clear way.”
The European commission said the UK had been allowed “ample opportunity” to get involved in the scheme.
A spokesman told reporters in Brussels: “The EU commission already announced on 31 January that it could help member states with organisation of such joint procurement schemes and this idea of joint procurement and reporting on the state of the medical supplies of the member states was a recurring topic of the agenda of the health and security committee meetings.
“The UK was, as all other members of the health security committee meetings, aware of the work that was ongoing and had ample opportunity to express its wish to participate in a joint procurement if it wanted to do so. As to why it did not participate, this is obviously something on which we cannot comment.”
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