2006 discharge: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control ECDC

PURPOSE: presentation of the final accounts of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control for the financial year 2006.

CONTENT: this document sets out a detailed account of the implementation of the 2006 budget, including the revenue and expenditure and the balance sheet for the year concerned.

The year 2006 was the first full year of operation of the Centre.

According to this document, the final budget amounted to EUR 17.146 million (against EUR 4.85 million in 2005) including a Community subsidy of 98%.

As regards the staffing policy, the Centre, (which is based in Stockholm) officially set out 50 posts in its establishment plan. 48 posts are currently occupied + 36 other posts totalling 84 posts assigned to operational and administrative duties. Staff expenditure amounted to EUR 5.664 million in 2006.

The activities carried out in 2006 are as follows:

• several guidelines, recommendations and risk assessments were produced, many focusing on influenza;
• evaluation and assessment of some surveillance networks;
• development of the database for routine surveillance with a core set of variables for all diseases set out for surveillance at European level (Commission Decisions 2002/253/EC and 2003/534/EC);
• epidemiological information from ECDC published in weekly electronic journal;
• in application of EC Regulation No 851/2004 and following an agreement between the ECDC and DG SANCO, the takeover of the EWRS by ECDC was organised;
• the EPIET field epidemiological training programme, initiated by the Commission, has been taken over by ECDC.

The complete version of the final accounts may be found at the following address: www.ecdc.europa.eu