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(1) The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (the ‘EMCDDA’) was established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 302/93 . That Regulation was recast in 2006 by Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council .

(2) The EMCDDA was established to provide the Union, Member States and participating third countries with factual, objective, reliable and comparable information concerning drugs, drug addiction and their consequences at European level in order to help provide them with an overall view of that information for the purpose of informing policymaking and guiding initiatives to tackle drugs and, thus, giving such initiatives added value when, in their respective areas of competence, they take measures or decide on action to address the drugs phenomenon. The establishment and functioning of the EMCDDA has manifestly improved the availability of information on drugs and drug addiction, and their consequences, across the Union and internationally.

(3) While its general objective is still valid and should be retained, Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 no longer provides an adequate framework for addressing current and future drug challenges. Therefore, the mandate of the EMCDDA should be revised in order, amongst other things, to replace and strengthen it. The EMCDDA should be renamed the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) (the ‘Agency’). Since substantial amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 are needed to accommodate the common approach on Union decentralised agencies adopted on 19 July 2012 by the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission and to take account of the developments of the drugs phenomenon, in the interest of clarity and efficiency, that Regulation should be repealed and replaced by this Regulation.

(4) The main focus of Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 was on health-related issues. While it is essential to maintain that focus, as health- and supply-related issues regarding the drugs phenomenon are intrinsically linked, it is also necessary to address drug supply in order to reduce the availability of drugs in the Union and curb drug demand and, thus, to contribute to addressing related safety and security concerns. In order to provide factual, objective, reliable, comparable and Union-wide significant data and analysis, the Agency should address the drugs phenomenon, taking an evidence-based, integrated, balanced and multidisciplinary approach to drugs, drug use, drug use disorders and addictions, prevention, treatment, care, risk and harm reduction, rehabilitation, social reintegration and recovery, drug markets and supply, including illicit production and trafficking, and other relevant drug-related issues and their consequences. The Agency’s approach should incorporate human rights, gender and gender equality, age, health, health equity and social perspectives.

(5) The work of the Agency should be carried out with due regard to the respective powers of the Union and its Member States in the area of drugs. It should cover the various facets of the drugs phenomenon and the solutions applied. In particular, the Agency should consider all aspects related to the protection and improvement of health, including physical and mental aspects, and the potential impact on public health. The Agency should also look into social aspects, including considerations linked to stigmatisation, marginalisation and the reintegration of people who use drugs. In doing so, the Agency should be guided by Union drug-related strategic documents.

(6) In pursuing its activities, the Agency should cooperate with other relevant Union bodies, offices and agencies within their respective mandates and should take account of their activities in order to avoid duplication. In particular, with due regard for their respective mandates, the Agency should cooperate with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol), established by Regulation (EU) 2016/794 of the European Parliament and of the Council , in order to ensure the collection of data, and the monitoring of trends, on drug supply, including illicit production and trafficking and other related crimes, on the use of new technologies and on new psychoactive substances. The Agency should also cooperate at international level with relevant authorities and bodies in third countries, in particular in candidate countries, and in support of Union and Member State action at the level of the United Nations. It is necessary that such cooperation comply with human rights norms.

(7) In order to attain maximum efficiency in addressing the drugs phenomenon, the Agency should have exchanges with relevant stakeholders and, in particular, with the scientific community, including academia, and civil society organisations, including organisations of people who use drugs and of communities affected by the consumption and sale of drugs or drug-related crime. Given the particular relevance of the experience of civil society organisations in the Agency’s area of competence, the Agency should maintain cooperation on its activities with civil society organisations, such as those active in the relevant Commission expert groups on drugs composed of civil society organisations. The Agency should dedicate the necessary means to consult, exchange information and pool knowledge with those organisations, including in the area of new psychoactive substances. Where appropriate, the Agency should organise dedicated consultations on the topics within its mandate.

(8) With a view to disseminating reliable information on drugs and the drug situation, the Agency should engage in communication activities on topics within its mandate. However, communication to the wider public in the area of drugs can sometimes have unintended negative consequences. As part of its communication activities and where appropriate, the Agency should, therefore, consider disseminating its reports, including initial reports and risk assessment reports on new psychoactive substances, to the scientific community and civil society organisations with a view to minimising possible drug-related harm. Where the Agency is prevented from disseminating its reports, in particular due to the presence of classified or sensitive non-classified information, it could consider publishing summaries of those reports with a view to minimising possible drug-related harm.

(9) In its work, the Agency should pay due regard to poly-substance use because such use is becoming increasingly common.

(10) The Agency should develop its activities around three main areas of competence, namely monitoring, leading to better informed policies; preparedness, leading to better informed actions; and competence development, leading to stronger Union and Member State responses to the drugs phenomenon.

(25) To further knowledge in the area covered by the mandate of the Agency and support Member States, the Agency should identify and finance relevant projects, such as the development of reference standards on new drugs, the elaboration of toxicological or pharmacological studies, the implementation of innovative approaches to research, and drug profiling. The projects that the Agency finances should be included in the Agency’s consolidated annual activity report and be made public.

(26) The Agency will be in a position to access data and gain necessary scientific experience to develop and promote evidence-based interventions and best practices, to raise awareness about the adverse effects of drugs, prevention, risk and harm reduction measures, treatment, care, rehabilitation and recovery, and, where relevant, to take a gender-sensitive approach and to take into account the age dimension. The Agency should promote the implementation and updating of existing quality standards for drug prevention (European Drug Prevention Quality Standards) and of a curriculum providing decision- and policy-makers with the knowledge about the most effective evidence-based prevention interventions and approaches (European Union Prevention Curriculum), including how to reach high-risk populations.