European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction EMCDDA

PURPOSE : to recast the Regulation on the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. PROPOSED ACT : Council Regulation. CONTENT : Council Regulation 302/93/EEC on the establishment of a European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction has been amended three times. New amendments are needed in order in particular to extend the Centre's role to include the examination of new trends in drug use involving the combination of legal and illegal substances, to confer evaluation tasks on the Centre and to adapt the operation of the Centre's Management Board and Scientific Committee to take account of enlargement. It therefore seemed appropriate in the interests of clarity to recast the Regulation. The proposed amendments can be divided into the following categories: - those designed to boost the Centre's role, in particular to take account of new drug use patterns, especially among young people, who increasingly tend to combine unlawful substances with lawful substances such as alcohol, and to enable the Centre to devise indicators for evaluating drugs policies and strategies implemented in the European Union. In addition, it is proposed that the EMCDDA's collection, registration and analysis work must also cover data on emerging trends in poly-drug use, including the combined use of legal and illegal psychotropic substances. Furthermore, as regards improving the data comparison methodology, it requires the EMCDDA to devise indicators for evaluating drugs policies and strategies implemented in the European Union. The scope of the Centre's technical assistance is extended to all countries authorised by a European Council to take part in Community programmes and agencies; - those designed to adapt the operation of the EMCDDA's bodies in order to take account of enlargement. The Regulation sets up a Steering Committee to assist the Management Board. A review of the composition of the Centre's Scientific Committee is also proposed. Moreover, the role of vice-chairman is created. Since the European Parliament is the discharge authority and in order to avoid any conflict of interests during the annual discharge procedure, it is proposed that the European Parliament no longer be represented on the EMCDDA's management board. However, this provision should enter into force only when the current term of the members representing the European Parliament expires. The non-voting status of the Management Board members representing countries which have concluded agreements pursuant to Article 17 is specified. It provides for the hearing of the Director before the European Parliament. The Scientific Committee is to be composed of 18 members appointed by the EMCDDA's Management Board, instead of one representative per Member State. This provision has been introduced in order to prevent the Scientific Committee becoming too big after enlargement to the detriment of its efficiency; - those designed to harmonise the EMCDDA Regulation with the Regulation on the new Community regulatory agencies; - those codifying the three amendments to the basic Regulation already adopted by the Council; - those designed to remove a number of uncertainties which emerged when the initial Regulation was applied. In particular, this concerns the reference to the Reitox focal points, instead of the specialised centres. It should be noted that the proposal requires external evaluation reports of the Centre's work which are to be conducted every five years. On the basis of this evaluation, the Commission may, if appropriate, present proposals with a view to amending the EMCDDA Regulation. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS : there shall be no financial implications on the European Union's budget.�