Article 2

This Decision shall apply to public health measures in relation to the following categories of serious cross-border threats to health: threats of biological origin, consisting of: communicable diseases; antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections related to communicable diseases (hereinafter ‘related special health issues’); biotoxins or other harmful biological agents not related to communicable diseases; threats of chemical origin; threats of environmental origin; threats of unknown origin; events which may constitute public health emergencies of international concern under the IHR, provided that they fall under one of the categories of threats set out in points (a) to (d). This Decision shall also apply to the epidemiological surveillance of communicable diseases and of related special health issues. The provisions of this Decision are without prejudice to provisions of other Union acts governing specific aspects of monitoring, early warning of, the coordination of preparedness and response planning for, and the coordination of, combating serious cross- border threats to health, including measures setting quality and safety standards for specific goods and measures concerning specific economic activities. In exceptional emergency situations, a Member State or the Commission may request response coordination within the HSC, as referred to in Article 11, for serious cross-border threats to health other than those covered in Article 2(1), if it is considered that public health measures taken previously have proven insufficient to ensure a high level of protection of human health. The Commission shall, in liaison with the Member States, ensure coordination and information exchange between the mechanisms and structures established under this Decision and similar mechanisms and structures established at Union level or under the Euratom Treaty whose activities are relevant for preparedness and response planning, monitoring, early warning of, and combating serious cross-border threats to health. Member States shall retain the right to maintain or introduce additional arrangements, procedures and measures for their national systems in the fields covered by this Decision, including arrangements provided for in existing or future bilateral or multilateral agreements or conventions, on condition that such additional arrangements, procedures and measures do not impair the application of this Decision.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-11-06 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.