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Annex 2 to Coordinating Competent Bodies:
Structures, Interactions and Terms of Reference:
Terms of Reference for the National Coordinator in the Coordinating Competent Body in EU/EEA Member States

Background
According to ECDC’s Founding Regulation, ECDC in its relations with the Member States cooperates with the Competent Bodies operating in the technical field of ECDC, in particular, in the area of surveillance (Article 3(2)), responses to health threats (Article 4), scientific opinions, scientific and technical assistance, collection of data and identification of emerging health threats (Article 5(4)) and public information campaigns (Article 12(3)).
To efficiently work with the EU/EEA countries, the ECDC MB adopted the “One Coordinating Competent Body” approach during the MB 20 in 2010, and the Terms of Reference for the Competent Bodies during MB 21 in 2011. For each EU/EEA country, one Coordinating Competent Body (CCB) and one National Coordinator (NC) have been defined, as main entry and liaison for the work between ECDC and the respective country.
Following the implementation of the ECDC strengthened mandate and the action plan of the Stakeholder Satisfaction Consultation in 2023 ECDC was looking into the ways to strengthen the collaboration with the CCBs at a strategic level, as well as reinforce the role of the NC. Based on the current experience, it was clear that the National Coordinators play a central role in the tactical and operational aspects of collaboration between MS and ECDC, hence, it was important to update the responsibilities of the NC accordingly by reinforcing this role.

Document AF28/7 Rev.1 – One national Coordinating Competent Body: Structures and terms of reference
Document MB 23/16 – One Competent Body for ECDC: Structures and terms of reference
Document MB21/10 - Terms of Reference for the Competent Bodies
Document MB20/13 Rev.1 - ECDC Work with EU Member States
Document MB19/12 - ECDC Work with EU Member States
Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004
Regulation (EU) 2022/2370 - ECDC’s strengthened mandate   
Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 – serious cross-border health threats to health
ECDC team responsible for relations with the National Coordinator
Executive Office, Director’s Office.

Responsibilities of the National Coordinator (NC)

The NC in the Coordinating Competent Body is formally nominated by the Director of the CCB and responsible for the following:
• Work in close collaboration with the CCB Director;
• Act as the main entry point for interactions between the CCB in the Member State and ECDC;
• Ensure coordination of information exchange between ECDC and the CCB in the Member State;
• Ensure that the interactions between the NC and the NFP/OCP are properly organised to fulfil their overall technical responsibilities (i.e., nomination, participation to meetings);
• Nominate National Focal Points (NFPs) and Operational Contact Points (OCPs), as well as Member State experts for ad hoc working groups and ECDC meetings;
• Ensure that the contact details of nominated persons are kept up-to-date in the ECDC Stakeholders Relationship Management System (SRM), and for this task ensure compliance with legal data protection rules;
• Handle institutional relations between the Member State and ECDC in relation to nominations;
• Coordinate in a timely manner the provision and exchange of scientific and technical information when applicable;
• Contribute/provide input into the development/revisions of ECDC strategies related to capacity building for the EU level and MS level;
• Identify needs for support from ECDC in terms of scientific and technical assistance;
• Support the dissemination of ECDC publications in the country;
• Assist ECDC within its operational areas (disease work and public health functions) when requested.
• Participate in the ECDC meetings:
• An annual face-to-face meeting for the NCs (during spring),
• A virtual meeting for CCB Directors and NCs focusing on specific topics (during autumn).
The NC may delegate some specific strategic and operational interactions to NFPs covering disease groups or public health functions and further day-to-day technical interactions to OCPs, as detailed in the Terms of Reference for these functions. If no delegations are done, these tasks will remain with the NC.
Responsibilities of ECDC
In order to ensure efficient communications between ECDC and the Coordinating Competent Body, ECDC is responsible for the following.
• Ensure that the NC is briefed in a timely manner on relevant ECDC activities and update about ECDC experts responsible for major projects and programmes;
• Organise meetings for the NCs;
• Inform about ECDC meetings and MS experts working with ECDC;
• Send relevant strategic and technical documents (including draft work programme priorities) to the NC for consultation with sufficient time to provide a sound reply.
• Facilitate regular networking between the NCs through electronic workspaces and face-to-face meeting.
• Provide NCs with timely feedback/replies to their request to ECDC;
• Provide an Induction package for the newly nominated members and alternates for the National Coordinator role;
• Provide full access to the ECDC SRM and guidance on how to manage within the SRM, and instructions on updated versions of the system.
Interactions
Based on these Terms of Reference, specific interactions for all areas of work at all levels (NC, NFP and OCP levels) can be developed separately. Key interactions are supported the ECDC SRM system.





Annex 2 to Coordinating Competent Bodies:
Structures, Interactions and Terms of Reference:
Terms of Reference for the National Coordinator in the Coordinating Competent Body in EU/EEA Member States

Background
According to ECDC’s Founding Regulation, ECDC in its relations with the Member States cooperates with the Competent Bodies operating in the technical field of ECDC, in particular, in the area of surveillance (Article 3(2)), responses to health threats (Article 4), scientific opinions, scientific and technical assistance, collection of data and identification of emerging health threats (Article 5(4)) and public information campaigns (Article 12(3)).
To efficiently work with the EU/EEA countries, the ECDC MB adopted the “One Coordinating Competent Body” approach during the MB 20 in 2010, and the Terms of Reference for the Competent Bodies during MB 21 in 2011. For each EU/EEA country, one Coordinating Competent Body (CCB) and one National Coordinator (NC) have been defined, as main entry and liaison for the work between ECDC and the respective country.
Following the implementation of the ECDC strengthened mandate and the action plan of the Stakeholder Satisfaction Consultation in 2023 ECDC was looking into the ways to strengthen the collaboration with the CCBs at a strategic level, as well as reinforce the role of the NC. Based on the current experience, it was clear that the National Coordinators play a central role in the tactical and operational aspects of collaboration between MS and ECDC, hence, it was important to update the responsibilities of the NC accordingly by reinforcing this role.

Document AF28/7 Rev.1 – One national Coordinating Competent Body: Structures and terms of reference
Document MB 23/16 – One Competent Body for ECDC: Structures and terms of reference
Document MB21/10 - Terms of Reference for the Competent Bodies
Document MB20/13 Rev.1 - ECDC Work with EU Member States
Document MB19/12 - ECDC Work with EU Member States
Regulation (EC) No 851/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004
Regulation (EU) 2022/2370 - ECDC’s strengthened mandate   
Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 – serious cross-border health threats to health
ECDC team responsible for relations with the National Coordinator
Executive Office, Director’s Office.

Responsibilities of the National Coordinator (NC)

The NC in the Coordinating Competent Body is formally nominated by the Director of the CCB and responsible for the following:
• Work in close collaboration with the CCB Director;
• Act as the main entry point for interactions between the CCB in the Member State and ECDC;
• Ensure coordination of information exchange between ECDC and the CCB in the Member State;
• Ensure that the interactions between the NC and the NFP/OCP are properly organised to fulfil their overall technical responsibilities (i.e., nomination, participation to meetings);
• Nominate National Focal Points (NFPs) and Operational Contact Points (OCPs), as well as Member State experts for ad hoc working groups and ECDC meetings;
• Ensure that the contact details of nominated persons are kept up-to-date in the ECDC Stakeholders Relationship Management System (SRM), and for this task ensure compliance with legal data protection rules;
• Handle institutional relations between the Member State and ECDC in relation to nominations;
• Coordinate in a timely manner the provision and exchange of scientific and technical information when applicable;
• Contribute/provide input into the development/revisions of ECDC strategies related to capacity building for the EU level and MS level;
• Identify needs for support from ECDC in terms of scientific and technical assistance;
• Support the dissemination of ECDC publications in the country;
• Assist ECDC within its operational areas (disease work and public health functions) when requested.
• Participate in the ECDC meetings:
• An annual face-to-face meeting for the NCs (during spring),
• A virtual meeting for CCB Directors and NCs focusing on specific topics (during autumn).
The NC may delegate some specific strategic and operational interactions to NFPs covering disease groups or public health functions and further day-to-day technical interactions to OCPs, as detailed in the Terms of Reference for these functions. If no delegations are done, these tasks will remain with the NC.
Responsibilities of ECDC
In order to ensure efficient communications between ECDC and the Coordinating Competent Body, ECDC is responsible for the following.
• Ensure that the NC is briefed in a timely manner on relevant ECDC activities and update about ECDC experts responsible for major projects and programmes;
• Organise meetings for the NCs;
• Inform about ECDC meetings and MS experts working with ECDC;
• Send relevant strategic and technical documents (including draft work programme priorities) to the NC for consultation with sufficient time to provide a sound reply.
• Facilitate regular networking between the NCs through electronic workspaces and face-to-face meeting.
• Provide NCs with timely feedback/replies to their request to ECDC;
• Provide an Induction package for the newly nominated members and alternates for the National Coordinator role;
• Provide full access to the ECDC SRM and guidance on how to manage within the SRM, and instructions on updated versions of the system.
Interactions
Based on these Terms of Reference, specific interactions for all areas of work at all levels (NC, NFP and OCP levels) can be developed separately. Key interactions are supported the ECDC SRM system.