At least four of those meetings discussed EU procurement schemes on: 31 January, 4 February, 2 March and 13 March. Later that month, on 13 March, EU officials discussed the combined purchase of ventilators. “I know that they [British officials] were at a working level interested in joint procurement,” he told the Guardian. Behind the scenes British officials maintain the UK did not receive an invitation in time to join four EU procurement schemes - an argument made last week by Number 10. The terms of the Brexit transition deal means the government has the right to take part in EU joint procurement until 31 December 2020.

Source: The Guardian March 30, 2020 18:45 UTC