Visions for the next five years: ECDC as a sustainable and service-oriented organisation.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is celebrating its fifth anniversary on 20 May 2010. At the beginning of May I started as the new Director of ECDC: it is both a pleasure and a challenge for me to take up my post and to continue the dedicated work of my predecessor, Zsuzsanna Jakab. Long before the Centre was established, I supported the idea of a European Union (EU)-wide institution concerned with the prevention and control of communicable diseases, coordinating the efforts of the Member States and protecting the health of European citizens. As the first Chair of the ECDC Management Board, I was proud to be among those closely involved in the work of establishing ECDC from the outset.