European Commissioner again pledges European centre for disease control by 2005

David Byrne, Europe’s Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, reiterated the European Commission’s commitment to the creation of a European centre for disease control by 2005 at the 2002 meeting of the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG, http://www.ehfg.org/) (1,2). The centre will bring together the expertise in member states and will act as a reference and coordination point both in routine and crises situations. The Commission also plans to establish a health portal for online information by 2004.