European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control – an EU agency located in Sweden
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The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) aims to strengthen Europe's defences against infectious diseases. This includes for example antimicrobial resistance, tuberculosis, influenza, sexually transmitted infections, and food- and water-borne diseases.
ECDC is a decentralised EU agency, located in Solna on the border of Stockholm, making it the only decentralised EU agency based in Sweden.
The mission of ECDC is primarily "to identify, assess and communicate current and emerging threats to human health from communicable diseases". The agency became operational in 2005 and has approximately 260 employees from most EU Member States.
Sweden has an important role as the host country for ECDC. For example, there is a seat agreement with ECDC (Swedish Treaty Series 2011:3). The seat agreement replaced the previous Memorandum of Understanding from 2005 (Swedish Treaty Series 2005:41). In addition, an agreement on strategic cooperation between ECDC and the Government is in place since 2013.
The Public Health Agency of Sweden cooperates with the ECDC in several different contexts and is a so called competent body according to the ECDC founding regulation. The Public Health Agency also represents Sweden on the ECDC Management Board and Advisory Forum. Responsibility for the ECDC at the Government Offices falls under the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs, which also has an alternate on the Management Board.
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