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SUMMARY: 1. Introduction. – 2. The European Medicine Agency. – 2.1. The EMA and the COVID-19 pandemic. – 2.2. European Agencies: an uneasy solution. – 3. The EMA’s extended mandate. – 3.1. The task of monitoring and mitigating shortages of medicinal products: the mandate of the MSSG. – 3.1.1. The structure of the MSSG. – 3.1.2. The MSSG and the SPOC network. – 3.1.3. The MSSG reports and recommendations. – 3.2. The European Shortages Monitoring Platform. – 3.3. The task of facilitating the research and development of medicinal products. – 4. Final thoughts.