Article 3 Procedural aspects

Where the PPE listed in Annex I is located in one or more Member States other than the one where the application for export authorisation has been made, that fact shall be indicated in the application. The competent authorities of the Member State to which the application for export authorisation has been made shall immediately consult the competent authorities of the Member State or States where the good is located and provide the relevant information. The Member State or States consulted shall make known as soon as possible, but no later than within 5 working days any objections it or they may have to the granting of such an authorisation, which shall bind the Member State in which the application has been made.

Member States shall process applications for export authorisations as soon as possible, but shall issue a decision no later than 5 working days from the date on which all required information has been provided to the competent authorities. Under exceptional circumstances and for duly justified reasons, that period may be extended by a further period of 5 working days.

In deciding whether to grant an export authorisation under this Regulation, Member States shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where appropriate, whether the export serves, inter alia:

• to fulfil supply obligations under a joint procurement procedure in accordance with Article 5 of Decision No 1082/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council^f1;

• to support the rescEU stockpiling of medical countermeasures or personal protective equipment aimed at combatting serious cross-border threats to health, as referred to in Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/570^f2;

• to respond to the request of assistance addressed to and handled by the UCPM (Union Civil Protection Mechanism) and to support concerted support actions coordinated by the Integrated Political Crisis Response Mechanism (IPCR), the Commission or other Union institutions;

• to support the statutory activities of aid organisations abroad that enjoy protection under the Geneva Convention, provided that they do not impair the ability to work as a national aid organisation;

• to support the activities of the World Health Organization’s Global Outbreak Alert & Response Network (GOARN);

• to supply foreign operations of EU Member States including, military operations, international police missions and/or civilian international peacekeeping missions;

• for the supply of Union and Member State delegations abroad.

Member States may take into account other elements, such as the degree of market integration for the products concerned whether or not achieved under arrangements establishing a free-trade area with the intended country of export, as well as geographic proximity.

In deciding whether to grant an export authorisation, the Member States shall ensure the adequacy of supply in the Union in order to meet the demand for the PPE listed in Annex I. Export authorisations may therefore be granted only where the shipment in question does not pose a threat to the availability of these goods on the market of the Member State in question or elsewhere in the Union. In order to best assess the situation, Member States shall inform the Commission at the following email address: [email protected], in particular when the volume of planned exports may cause a shortage.

The Commission shall issue an opinion within 48 hours from the receipt of the request.

Member States may decide to make use of electronic documents for the purpose of processing the applications for export authorisation.