The European Union has published a proposal for regulation, concerning an extended mandate of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
The Agency was established in 1993 with the mission to provide the EU and its Member States with factual, objective, reliable and comparable information at European level on drugs and drug addiction and their consequences. The Commission undertook an evaluation of the Agency in 2018/19 which showed that EMCDDA is recognised as a hub of excellence in Europe and internationally. Although the evaluation showed that the functioning of the Agency in relation to the five evaluation criteria (coherence, relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, EU added-value) is positive, it also pointed out that further improvements would be beneficial in several areas.
The general objective of a revision of the EMCDDA Regulation would be to have an Agency, which is appropriately equipped to deal with the current and future challenges posed by drugs in the EU. The specific objectives of a potential proposal are to:
- Increase the Agency’s capacity to react faster and in a more targeted way to new challenges in the field of drugs and addictions and related threats;
- Deepen the monitoring and analysis of the drug phenomenon in Europe, both on the supply and demand side;
- Better clarify the mandate of the Agency as regards what substances should be covered; and
- Provide support to Member States in shaping and evaluating their drugs policies.
DG HOME launched an impact assessment analysis in the first quarter of 2020 to support the preparation of this initiative and to inform the Commission’s decision. The feedback period is from 4 June to 30 July 2020.
To give a feedback on this initiative, please follow this link>>>