European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
Communicable disease
outbreaks can pose a
significant threat to the
health and well being of the
European Union's citizens. In a
European Union where millions
of people cross internal and
external borders each day,
tackling health threats
requires a much closer
co-operation between Member
States, the European
Commission, the World Health
Organisation and affected
countries around the world. The
European Union citizens place a
very high value on the
protection of their
health.
Since 1999, the
Commission has managed a
Communicable Diseases Network.
This is currently based on ad
hoc cooperation between Member
States within the legal
framework of Council and
Parliament
Decision
2119/98/EC. However, there
is a need for a substantial
reinforcement of this system if
the European Union is to be in
a position to control
communicable diseases
effectively.
In Spring 2004 the Council
and the European Parliament
adopted enabling legislation to
create a European Centre for
Disease Prevention and Control.
This new EU agency will provide
a structured and systematic
approach to the control of
communicable diseases and other
serious health threats which
affect European Union citizens.
The ECDC will also mobilise and
significantly reinforce the
synergies between the existing
national centres for disease
control.
Following multiple
contacts between the new staff
of the ECDC and the Health
Threats Unit of the European
Commission, all relevant
document and projects conducted
by the Commission services and
relating to the fight against
communicable diseases and
bioterrorism have been
summarised in a
second
handover note to the ECDC
Executive Director dated 21
September 2005.
Main
Tasks of the European
Centre for Diseases Prevention
and Control.