"During the past 70 years or more, thousands of viruses have been isolated and partly characterised by experts working in different countries worldwide. These viruses potentially provide a unique and extremely valuable medical and educational resource for research and development to understand the basis of virus diseases, and to develop modern state of the art strategies for disease control. However, nowhere in the world has there been an attempt to coordinate these collections of viruses so that they can be authenticated, amplified under quality-controlled conditions, stored long-term, and disseminated worldwide to laboratories engaged in fundamental and/or applied research. Without carefully coordinated intervention, these valuable resources will be lost to science and medicine. The objective of this project is therefore to develop a readily accessible virus reference library at the European level through the creation of the European Virus Archive (EVA). Since it would create insurmountable problems to develop such a collection in a single laboratory, EVA will utilise the expertise and facilities of recognised centres of excellence in virology within Europe. EVA will also exploit the high international reputations of these centres to obtain viruses currently held outside Europe. The management structure of EVA will ensure the highest standards of quality assurance, security, traceability and dissemination for the benefit of science, medicine, education and global information. The EVA network will develop appropriate protocols for virus amplification, supported by sustainable long-term storage facilities. The resource will be available to all users who can demonstrate the appropriate biosecurity credentials. An associated technology transfer centre will develop products for diagnosis, research, therapeutic application, education, and training. The EVA consortium contains internationally recognised experts in all aspects of the proposal. EVA is therefore an exciting, ambitious and realisable concept that can work for the benefit of mankind."