The way forward with EU/EEA surveillance of infectious diseases

In line with the overall ECDC strategy, the new surveillance framework is aiming to promote standards, help bridge the gap between science, policy and practice, provide tailored support to Member States, harness technological innovation and collaborate broadly with partners and stakeholders. 

The new surveillance framework is an important instrument in implementing the recently amended ECDC Founding Regulation and the new Regulation on serious cross-border threats to health. Within its scope, ECDC will promote digitalisation and integration of EU/EEA surveillance, help strengthen national surveillance systems, expand and integrate data sources and digital platforms, and connect to the European Health Data Space. ECDC will also intensify its work in collecting and analysing data on prevalence of risk factors in relevant populations and will coordinate a newly established network of European Reference Laboratories to strengthen and standardise laboratory capacity across the EU/EEA. 

The new surveillance framework has undergone rigorous review by experts in indicator-based and event-based surveillance, molecular and genomic typing, biostatistics and modelling in ECDC. Following stakeholder consultation, it has been endorsed by the EU Member States and the European Commission.