(fra kommisjonsforordningen)

(1) The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (‘the ECDC’) has established the EU Health Task Force (‘the EUHTF’), which comprises a permanent capacity and an enhanced emergency capacity to support prevention of, preparedness for and response to epidemics.

(2) The permanent capacity coordinates all activities of the EUHTF and manages the EUHTF procedures, working modalities, objectives, tasks and annual work planning. The enhanced emergency capacity serves to leverage to the maximum extent all the resources within the EUHTF, namely both the permanent capacity and the pool of experts, to facilitate the response to a public health emergency at Union level.

(3) If the Commission recognises a public health emergency at Union level pursuant to Article 23(1) of Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), the enhanced emergency capacity is to be mobilised following a joint request by the Member States and the Commission. This mobilisation should be carried out by the ECDC.

(4) The mobilisation of the enhanced emergency capacity aims to facilitate the EUHTF response during a public health emergency at Union level by the involvement of the EUHTF experts additional to the permanent capacity and their assistance to the Member States that submit a request for assistance. Such assistance can include the deployment of EUHTF experts in those Member States or remote support.

(5) During a public health emergency at Union level, Member States and the Commission should consult each other within the Health Security Committee referred to in Article 4 of Regulation (EU) 2022/2371 on the need to request mobilisation of the enhanced emergency capacity.

(6) Once the enhanced emergency capacity is mobilised, any Member State should be able to submit a request for assistance to the ECDC. The ECDC should inform the Health Security Committee and the Commission about requests for assistance received from the Member States.

(7) The ECDC should periodically inform the Health Security Committee and the Commission about the main outcomes of the activities performed by the enhanced emergency capacity assisting the Member States.

(8) The procedure provided for in this Regulation is in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on serious cross-border threats to health,