Representatives from Belgium (Federal Public Service Public Health – DG Preparedness and Response), Germany (Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe e.V.) and Portugal (Instituto Nacional de Emergência Médica (INEM) and Instituto Nacional de Saúde (INSA)), took part in the meeting, alongside colleagues from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) and the Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE).
The aim of the meeting was to strengthen mutual understanding of each entity’s mandate, scope, and operational roles, with a focus on ensuring seamless collaboration during cross-border public health emergencies in Europe and beyond, including those caused by infectious disease or other emerging threats.
Over the course of two days, participants shared updates on their respective work in epidemic intelligence and emergency preparedness, explored the structure and objectives of the rescEU EMT Public Health SCT, currently under development as a part of the rescEU EMT (the new pan-European field hospital) and developed standard operating procedures for potential coordinated expert deployment under the rescEU EMT capacity. Participants also discussed opportunities for training, knowledge sharing, and alignment of tools and approaches.
The meeting marks an important step toward operationalising cooperation between EU-level public health emergency response teams, supporting a more timely, coordinated, and effective response to future public health threats.
