13 Establishment of a European Centre
for Disease Prevention and Control
| (24835)
12098/03
COM(03) 441
| Draft Regulation establishing a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
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| Legal base | Article 152(4)EC; co-decision; QMV
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| Document originated | 8 August 2003
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| Deposited in Parliament | 8 September 2003
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| Department | Health |
| Basis of consideration | EM of 28 September 2003
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| Previous Committee Report | None
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| To be discussed in Council | 1-2 December 2003
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| Committee's assessment | Legally and politically important
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| Committee's decision | Not cleared; further information awaited
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Background
13.1 According to the Commission, communicable diseases pose a
significant health threat within the Community, with the large
movements across both internal and external borders each day calling
for much closer co-operation between Member States, the Commission
itself, and bodies such as the World Health Organisation if outbreaks
are to be brought under control swiftly and effectively. It also
points out that these concerns have recently been increased by
the risk of terrorist attacks. As a result, it has concluded
that the Communicable Diseases Network set up under Decision 2119/98/EC[32]
to provide an early warning and response system, and based on
ad hoc cooperation, needs to be reinforced, particularly
with the accession of the new Member States next year. It has
therefore proposed in this document the establishment of a European
Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
The current proposal
13.2 The Commission envisages that the new Centre would be an
independent European agency, based on the model of the European
Food Safety Agency, which would mobilise and augment the synergies
between existing national centres for disease control, and provide
policy-makers and individuals within the Community with authoritative
scientific advice on serious health threats. It would also recommend
control measures, thus "enabling a rapid and effective"
Community-wide response going beyond that achieved so far by the
Communicable Diseases Network. More specifically, it suggests
that the new agency's role should include facilitating cooperation
on epidemiological surveillance and laboratory networking (and
in the process gradually take over operational support for the
current networks); early warning and response; scientific opinions
and technical assistance; preparedness against health emergencies;
the communication of health threats, and providing a rapid response
to them; and supporting national public health institutes. However,
the Commission recognises that epidemiological centres in the
Member States must continue to play a central role, not least
because they have available most of the resources needed, and
it therefore acknowledges that a large European centre is not
needed, so long as it has access to the national centres. At
this stage, it envisages an annual budget of around €12 million,
rising to around €48 million after five years, which would
be funded principally from the Community budget, augmented by
income received for work carried out and other contributions,
The Government's view
13.3 In her Explanatory Memorandum of 28 September 2003, the Parliamentary
Under-Secretary of State for Public Health at the Department of
Health (Miss Melanie Johnson) says that the UK has a strong record
of international collaboration on communicable disease control,
and has given its full support to the European Communicable Diseases
Network, having been a prime mover in its establishment. She
adds that, subject to discussion of the details, the UK supports
this proposal, which takes account of views it put forward earlier,
and which she believes is likely in due course to result in increasing
harmonisation of the approach to communicable diseases across
Europe. The Minister's main reservation at this stage relates
to the use of Article 152(4) of the Treaty, which she says the
Government is examining further, and on which it will submit an
update once it has a clear position on the issue.
Conclusion
13.4 We note the Government's broad support for the establishment
of a European Centre of the kind proposed, and see no reason as
regards the substance of the proposal to withhold clearance.
However, in view of the Government's (unspecified) reservations
about the Treaty base proposed, we will hold the document under
scrutiny, pending the further information which the Minister has
undertaken to provide on this point.
32 OJ No. L.268, 3.10.98, p.1. Back
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