Strasbourg, 4 October 2022
According to ECR Rapporteur MEP Joanna Kopcińska, the adoption of an extended mandate for the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) by the European Parliament is based on the facts that “no country is able to deal with a cross-border public health crisis on its own, while at the same time the pandemic crisis first of all highlighted the importance of a quick local response.”
The Centre will coordinate data collection and exchange, carry out its own risk assessments and maintain databases for epidemiological surveillance at the EU level. It will also cooperate closely with the Commission, national authorities, relevant EU institutions and agencies, and international organisations, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO). The mandate also includes an EU Health Task Force of experts who will assist in preparedness and response planning, including for responses to outbreaks on the ground, in coordination with the Civil Protection Mechanism and other international mechanisms. The negotiated mandate will help to better align and coordinate EU recommendations and actions with WHO recommendations in order to ensure their coherence and complementarity
“It was an extreme lesson in sacrifice, solidarity and resourcefulness”, Kopcińska said.
She continued:
“It is necessary to respect the principle of subsidiarity of actions at the EU level in such a way that the EU supports and coordinates actions of the Member States where actions solely at the national level would be ineffective. It is important to properly train Member States’ medical personnel and administrations when drawing up national action plans.”
The text was voted through by 542 votes in favour, 43 against and 9 abstentions.
Source – ECR (via email)