Since 1 January 2008, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe (WHO/Europe) jointly coordinate the tuberculosis (TB) surveillance activities in Europe. The data collected provides an opportunity for a comprehensive analysis of the TB situation. We aimed at analysing the EU and EEA/EFTA data to identify general TB trends and to provoke some discussion regarding the challenges and needs for monitoring the epidemic.