UNLEASHING THE POTENTIAL OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING TO FIGHT COVID-19 – CECIMO RECOMMENDATIONS TO POLICYMAKERS

30.03.2020 - UCIMU-SISTEMI PER PRODURRE

Brussels, 30 March 2020

The current COVID-19 outbreak is causing severe shortages of essential medical equipment,particularly in those countries with the most significant number of patients.With the recent “call to action”, CECIMO, the European association for AdditiveManufacturing, has been in direct contact with companies who have offered to help in thistime of need. However, many of them have pointed out that various regulatory requirementscould potentially block their contribution.“I believe that the additive manufacturing sector could provide immediate solutions to sustainthe effort of hospital workers in the middle of this emergency. However, it is in the best interestof all to clarify the regulatory issues in order to move forward quickly and in a way that is notgoing to delay immediate actions", says Filip Geerts, CECIMO Director General.Therefore, we call upon policymakers to address the following issues: Use government’s official channels to communicate any requests to print parts, uploada list of essential supplies and provide the necessary files for printing to thosecompanies who request them. Temporarily waive the Medical Device and Product Liability Directive requirements thatwould hamper AM companies’ response to the extraordinary demand of equipment byhealthcare sector. Provide temporary authorization to use patents of essential supplies and serviceswithout the consent of patent holders. Cooperate closely with the customs authorities to accelerate the approval proceduresfor imports/ exports of essential supplies and/or 3D Printing Hardware and ensure freeflow of essential supplies and/or 3D Printing Hardware within the EU’s internal market. Include the AM sector in the list of the essential value chains that should continue itsactivities during the lockdown period. Enable a quicker and smoother access to the market of new essential medical andprotection equipment, by providing temporary access to certification, in response to thecoronavirus outbreak.Furthermore, we encourage policymakers to: Develop and approve a fast reprogramming of the European structural funds in linewith what the was recently approved by the European Parliament. This action shouldCECIMO – European Association of the Machine Tool Industriesand related Manufacturing TechnologiesAvenue Louise 66 - B - 1050 Brussels+32 (0) 2 502 70 [email protected] www.cecimo.euaim to improve the provisioning of the health sector in general and, those sectors suchas the AM, especially involved in supplying hospitals and other health institutions. Prioritize the scale-up of the European manufacturers’ capabilities addressing pressingissues such as shortage of components or equipment.About CECIMOCECIMO is the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries and related ManufacturingTechnologies. We bring together 15 national associations of machine tool builders, whichrepresent approximately 1500 industrial enterprises in Europe (EU + EFTA + Turkey), over 80%of which are SMEs. CECIMO covers 98% of the total machine tool production in Europe andabout 35% worldwide. It accounts for more than 150,000 employees and a turnover of around27 billion euros in 2019. More than three quarters of CECIMO production is shipped abroad,

whereas half of it is exported outside Europe.

For media enquiries, contact:Filip Geerts, Director General of [email protected]