Single programming document 2019–2021

2019 will be a year of transformation for Europe: a new European Parliament will be elected, a new European Commission will be in office, the United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the Union on 29 March, and the final agreement on the new multiannual financial framework 2021-2027 for the EU will be adopted.  

Despite these changes, ECDC will further demonstrate its efficiency and usefulness by providing added value in the area of European public health. The Centre will embrace technological challenges that will change – or already have changed – the way we work at the EU and Member State level, for example Big Data, e-health, whole genome sequencing, and social media. 

In the wake of the 2017 Rome Declaration for a strong and secure Europe in the world, and based on the provisions of Article 168 of the European Treaty, ECDC’s role and contribution has become even more essential because of the shared responsibility between the EU and the Member States to protect and improve human health against major cross-border threats. 

In 2019, ECDC will continue to contribute to health security, giving particular attention to the following areas:

• Tackle antimicrobial resistance
• Improve vaccine coverage in the EU
• Support the European Commission and the Member States in addressing the Sustainable Development Goals in the area of HIV, TB and hepatitis
• Further support the European Commission and the Member States in strengthening the preparedness for cross-border health threats
• Focus on strategic partnerships to create synergy and avoid duplication of work
• Further enhance ECDC’s performance and monitoring. 

In 2019 and 2020, ECDC will continue to implement its Strategic Multi-annual Programme 2014–2020 (SMAP). The SMAP – after a 2016 mid-term review by the Management Board – was integrated in the multiannual section of the Single Programming Document. In 2019–2020, ECDC will produce a new long-term strategy that will guide the Centre’s efforts for the years ahead; implementation is scheduled for 2021. This strategy will draw on the results of ECDC third external evaluation covering the years 2012–2017, which was launched in 2018 and is expected to be completed in 2019. Other input will come from other evaluations, for example those on the ECDC surveillance systems (EPHESUS project), on ECDC’s Disease Programmes, and on the ECDC Fellowship Programme.

In this context, the Single Programming Document constitutes an essential element for the guidance of ECDC’s work and its resource allocation. The Document follows the standard template used by all EU agencies. Its presentation and structure ensures that ECDC’s commitments are clearly presented and explained to the Centre’s stakeholders, putting them in a position to efficiently monitor the Centre’s progress during 2019.