Executive Steering Group on Shortages of Medical Devices

The role of the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Executive Steering Group on Shortages of Medical Devices is to ensure a robust response to supply issues with medical devices caused by public health emergencies. It puts in place measures to prevent and correct medical device shortages within the European Union (EU). 

EMA established the group in March 2023 in line with the Regulation on EMA's Reinforced Role (Regulation (EU) 2022/123). 

The group is also known as the 'Medical Device Shortages Steering Group' or MDSSG. 

For more information, see: 

• Crisis preparedness and management
• Regulation on EMA's Reinforced Role (Regulation (EU) 2022/123)

Also on this topic

• Meeting of the Executive Steering Group on Shortages of Medical Devices (MDSSG) - March 2026
• Meeting of the Executive Steering Group on Shortages of Medical Devices (MDSSG) - June 2023

Responsibilities

The group's responsibilities include:

• establishing a list of critical medical devices that need to be monitored in order to prevent or manage any supply issues during a public health emergency;
• monitoring the supply of and demand for these critical medical devices to enable swift and coordinated measures to identify, prevent or mitigate potential or actual shortages;
• reporting and providing recommendations on related measures and mitigation plans;
• providing recommendations on actions needed at EU level to address any shortages of listed critical medical devices. 

How the group works

In carrying out its responsibilities, the group consults its working party on any scientific issue related to their specific fields of expertise.

It may also consult: 

• other EMA scientific committees, their working parties, expert groups and the Coordination Group for Mutual Recognition and Decentralised Procedures - Human (CMDh);
• Health Security Committee (HSC), Medical Devices Coordination Group (MDCG), European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and any other relevant advisory committee on public health emergencies.

EMA ensures that the group cooperates closely with the Executive Steering Group on Shortages and Safety of Medicinal Products (MSSG), which it established in March 2022.

The group will be supported by the Medical Device Shortages Single Points of Contact Working Party (MD-SPOC WP). This working party will bring together single points of contact for shortages from national competent authorities for medical devices.

For more information, see:

• Coordination Group for Mutual Recognition and Decentralised Procedures - Human (CMDh)
• Health Security Committee (HSC)
• Medical Devices Coordination Group (MDCG)
• European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
• Executive Steering Group on Shortages and Safety of Medicinal Products (MSSG)

Composition

The members of the group include:

• representatives of EU Member States;
• one representative of the European Commission;
• one EMA representative.

It also includes one observer from EMA’s Patients' and Consumers' Working Party (PCWP) and one from its Healthcare Professionals’ Working Party (HCPWP).

The group is co-chaired by the representative of EMA and that of one Member State.

More information on the group's responsibilities, composition, procedures and activities is available below:

Rules of procedure of the Executive Steering Group on Shortages of Medical Devices

Members

Below (in alphabetical order of the country they represent) are the current members of the Executive Steering Group on Shortages of Medical Devices (MDSSG).

The members' declarations of interests are available in the European expert list.

 

• Co-chair (EMA):

  Emer Cooke

• Affiliation:

  European Medicines Agency

• Co-chair (Member States):

  Karl Broich

• Affiliation:

  Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM)

European Commission

• Representative:

  Flora Giorgio

• Affiliation:

  European Commission. DG SANTE D3

Austria

• Representative:

  Martin Renhardt

• Affiliation:

  Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Health, Care and Consumer Protection

Belgium

• Representative:

  Hugues Malonne

• Affiliation:

  Federal Agency for Medicines and Healthcare Products (FAMHP)

Bulgaria

• Representative:

  Todor Darakchiev

• Affiliation:

  Bulgarian Drug Agency

Croatia

• Representative:

  Suzana Oštarčević

• Affiliation:

  Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices (HALMED)

Cyprus

• Representative:

  Ioannis Argyropoulos

• Affiliation:

  Ministry of Health of the Republic of Cyprus – Medical and Public Health Services

Czechia

• Representative:

  Karolína Peštová

• Affiliation:

  State Institute for Drug Control (SÚKL)

Denmark

• Representative:

  Nils Falk Bjerregaard

• Affiliation:

  Danish Medicines Agency

Estonia

• Representative:

  Piret Põiklik

• Affiliation:

  Agency of Medicines of Estonia

Finland

• Representative:

  Susanna Peltoniemi

• Affiliation:

  Finnish Medicines Agency

France

• Representative:

  Pascal Di Donato

• Affiliation:

  National Agency for the Safety of Medicine and Health Products (ANSM)

Germany

• Representative:

  Karl Broich

• Affiliation:

  Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM)

Greece

• Representative:

  Virginia Safra

• Affiliation:

  National Organization for Medicines in Greece

Hungary

• Representative:

  Tímea Kahlesz

• Affiliation:

  Ministry of Health of Hungary

Ireland

• Representative:

  Niall MacAllenaan

• Affiliation:

  Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA)

Italy

• Representative:

  Alessandra Basilisco

• Affiliation:

  Italian Ministry of Health

Latvia

• Representative:

  Sergejs Akuličš

• Affiliation:

  State Agency of Medicines of Latvia

Lithuania

• Representative:

  Jolanta Karavackaite

• Affiliation:

  State Health Care Accreditation Agency

Luxembourg

• Representative:

  Anna Chioti

• Affiliation:

  Luxembourg Health Directorate

Malta

• Representative:

  Louise Grech

• Affiliation:

  Malta Medicines Authority

Netherlands

• Representative:

  Arjan van Drielen

• Affiliation:

  Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports in The Netherland

Poland

• Representative:

  Jan Szulc

• Affiliation:

  Office for Registration of Medicinal Products, Medical Devices and Biocidal Products

Portugal

• Representative:

  Rui Santos Ivo

• Affiliation:

  National Authority of Medicines and Health Products

Romania

• Representative:

  Alexandru George Florea

• Affiliation:

  National Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices

Slovakia

• Representative:

  Zuzana Batova

• Affiliation:

  State Institute for Drug Control

Slovenia

• Representative:

  Momir Radulović

• Affiliation:

  Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices

Spain

• Representative:

  María Jesús Lamas Díaz

• Affiliation:

  Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products

Sweden

• Representative:

  Ann Lindberg

• Affiliation:

  Swedish Medical Products Agency

Observers

Iceland

• Representative:

  Rúna Hauksdóttir Hvannberg

• Affiliation:

  Icelandic Medicines Agency

Liechtenstein

• Representative:

  Fabian Kurzemann

• Affiliation:

  Office of Health

Norway

• Representative:

  Trygve Ottersen

• Affiliation:

  Norwegian Medical Products Agency

Healthcare Professionals' Working Party (HCPWP)

• Representative:

  Maciej Kostrubiec

• Affiliation:

  European Society of Cardiology

Patients' and Consumers' Working Part (PCWP)

• Representative:

  Christine Dehn

• Affiliation:

  European Heart Network

Page update history

An update log is available to show the date and summary of changes to this webpage. It does not include updates to linked documents or minor edits like typos or broken link fixes.

The tracking of updates begins in May 2026.

See update history

19 May 2026

The members' list has been updated with all current members of the group.