Commission Recommendation (EU) 2020/403 of 13 March 2020 on conformity assessment and market surveillance procedures within the context of the COVID-19 threat.

This European Commission Recommendation provides indications aimed at ensuring general human health protection in certain dynamics, due to the COVID-19 threat. In particular, this text addresses the need to ensure the effective availability, conformity and safety of personal protective equipment and other medical devices. Products such as face masks, gloves, protective coveralls or eyewear protection, as well as other similar medical devices are main objects of this emergency conformity assessment indication.
With the objective to ensure availability of personal protective equipment and medical devices for adequate protection in the COVID-19 outbreak, the Commission invites all economic operators throughout the supply chain, as well as notified bodies and market surveillance authorities to deploy all the measures at their disposal to support the efforts aimed at ensuring that the supply of personal protective equipment and medical devices throughout the EU market will match the continuously increasing demand. Such measures should nevertheless not have a detrimental effect on the overall level of health and safety and all relevant stakeholders should ensure that any personal protective equipment or medical devices, which is being placed on the EU market, continues to provide an adequate level of protection of the users’ health and safety (conformity assessment procedures and market surveillance procedures).