EU disease centre told to look at improving transparency

Centre should be more open about gaps in data, European Ombudsman says

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, an EU agency that helps protect the bloc against infectious diseases, has been told by the European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly that it should be more transparent about the limitations of its institutional setup and outputs.

In a decision published on 8 February, O’Reilly said there was a public interest in “greater transparency” from the ECDC, which would help the public to scrutinise its activities. The ECDC has limited resources and powers—although these are to be bolstered in light of the Covid-19 pandemic—and is dependent on national disease agencies for data.