International cooperation

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Collaboration with non-EU countries and international partners

EU candidate countries and potential candidates

European Neighbourhood Policy partners

World Health Organization

Organisations in other non-EU countries

Collaboration with non-EU countries and international partners

One of the five strategic objectives of ECDC’s Strategy 2021–2027 is dedicated to increasing health security in the EU through international collaboration and alignment regarding infectious disease policies and practice by strengthened cooperation and coordination between ECDC and partners in non-EU countries, in particular EU-neighbouring countries, and with its other international partners.

EU candidate countries and potential candidates

The Centre actively fosters links with national public health authorities in the Western Balkans (namely, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo^*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia) and Türkiye, as well as in Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia as partners under the EU Enlargement Policy (link is external).

Through the technical assistance projects with EU financial support funded by the European Commission (DG NEAR) under the Instrument of Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA), ECDC has been working closely with the Western Balkans and Türkiye towards their gradual integration into ECDC activities as per EU acquis and in bringing them closer to EU standards and systems on communicable disease prevention and control, with a particular focus on assisting them in strengthening surveillance, public health microbiology systems, workforce capacities, and preparedness and response capacities. ECDC is currently implementing Action ‘Preparatory measures for the participation of Western Balkans and Türkiye in ECDC with special focus on One Health against AMR an enhanced SARI surveillance’, 2020–2024. More information can be found on the dedicated page on ECDC Accession Support to the Western Balkans and Türkiye. 

Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine are ECDC partners under the EU Initiative on Health Security.

Relations between ECDC and these countries are coordinated via officially nominated single contact points in national public health authorities, called National ECDC Correspondents.

^*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo Declaration of Independence.

European Neighbourhood Policy partners

ECDC’s cooperation with the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partner countries aims to develop technical cooperation on the prevention and control of serious cross-border threats to health from communicable diseases and bring them closer to EU standards through the strengthening of capacities and the approximation of practices and legislation. 

Since 2020, ECDC has been implementing the EU Initiative on Health Security, financed by the European Commission (DG NEAR) which aims to enable tailor-made support to EU candidate and potential candidate countries and European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partner countries to set up a regional competent workforce for the prevention and control of threats posed by communicable diseases and enhance regional cooperation to tackle cross-border health security threats. It focuses on workforce-oriented capability-building delivered through the Mediterranean and Black Sea Programme for Intervention Epidemiology Training (MediPIET), capacity-building in epidemic intelligence, risk assessment, preparedness and response and promotion of regional cooperation, knowledge-sharing and networking.   

ECDC’s long-term objective is to establish a set of procedures and tools available for technical cooperation with ENP countries as well as to have well-functioning contacts for cooperation in place.

World Health Organization  

Organisations in other non-EU countries

ECDC collaborates with other Centres for Disease Control (CDCs) in non-EU countries at bilateral and multilateral levels, acknowledging the importance of strong international cooperation and coordination with partners in addressing serious cross-border threats to health from communicable diseases towards improving health security at the EU and globally. The Centre has signed Memoranda of Understanding/Administrative Arrangements with a number of CDCs across the globe, including the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the Ministry of Health of Mexico, the Health Security Agency of the United Kingdom, and Korea’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency. ECDC also collaborates with the African, Caribbean, and Gulf supranational CDCs, as well as with Israel, Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Australia. 

In January 2021, ECDC and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) launched a four-year partnership entitled ‘EU for health security in Africa: ECDC for Africa CDC’, with financial support from the European Commission (Directorate-General International Partnerships) under the European Development Fund. This project acknowledges the strategic importance between the two technical continental agencies, and is in line with EU foreign policy priorities to strengthen partnerships with African institutions.

In 2019, on the initiative of ECDC, the Network of ECDC focal points in CDCs in third countries was established to exchange information and expertise in a timely manner to respond effectively to threats posed by infectious diseases. The Network proved to be particularly useful during the COVID-19 pandemic, which highlighted how serious threats to health from communicable diseases are inherently cross-border and underlined the importance of strong international cooperation and coordination with partners.