History
As EU economic integration and open frontiers increased, cooperation on public health issues became more important. While the idea of creating a European CDC had been discussed previously by public health experts, the outbreak of SARS in 2003 and its rapid spread across countries confirmed the urgency of the creation of an EU-wide institution for public health. ECDC was set up in record time for an EU agency: the European Commission presented draft legislation in July 2003, by the spring of 2004 ECDC’s Founding Regulation had been passed and by the spring of 2005 the Centre started operating. As it started its activities, another threat – H5N1 avian influenza arriving in the EU’s neighbourhood and the fear that it could adapt or mutate into a pandemic strain of human influenza – confirmed the relevance of its mission.
Read more about this topic: European Centre For Disease Prevention And Control
Famous quotes containing the word history:
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