The purpose of this contract is to provide a cost-benefit analysis and analysis of regulatory options to strengthen the existing coordination of reference microbiology provision in the EU in order to support the European response coordination to outbreaks of highly pathogenic infectious agents.

The context is the need to improve coordination of laboratory activities in case of response to serious cross-border threats to health as defined under Decision 1082/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on serious cross-border threats to health.