European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA)

KEY POINTS

The agency’s general tasks in relation to drugs, drug use, drug use disorders and addictions, prevention, treatment, care, risk and harm reduction, rehabilitation, social reintegration, recovery, drug markets and supply, including illicit production and trafficking, and other relevant drug-related issues and their consequences are to:

• provide the European Union (EU) and EU Member States with:
  • factual, objective, reliable and comparable information,
  • early warnings and risk assessments;
• recommend concrete, evidence-based measures to address the abovementioned challenges in an efficient and timely manner.

In carrying out its tasks, the agency has to respect fundamental rights and data protection rules and apply an evidence-based, integrated, balanced and multidisciplinary approach to its work.

The agency’s specific tasks are the following.

• Monitoring:
  • collecting, analysing and disseminating information and data from national focal points, research and other sources on all aspects of the drug phenomenon.
• Preparedness:
  • exchanging information on, and maintaining the early warning system for, new psychoactive substances, cooperating with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation and other agencies to prepare initial reports and risk assessments;
  • assessing health and security threats through early identification of new drug trends impacting on the EU;
  • establishing and operating a European drug alert system;
  • monitoring drug precursors¹ and supporting the European Commission in the implementation of the EU law on precursors;
  • developing and running a network of forensic and toxicological laboratories to generate data, exchange information, organise training and support the implementation of quality assurance schemes and the harmonisation of data collection and analytical techniques.
• Competence development:
  • developing and promoting evidence-based interventions, best practices and awareness about the adverse effects of drugs, prevention, treatment, care, risk and harm reduction, rehabilitation, social reintegration and recovery;
  • assessing national measures to determine whether they comply with the latest science and meet their objectives;
  • supporting Member States in evaluating and developing national drug policies and in the implementation of their policies, quality standards, best practices and innovative approaches;
  • providing specialised training and curricula and relevant tools and support systems;
  • implementing international cooperation and technical assistance;
  • identifying key research themes and helping to develop and implement the EU’s research and innovation framework programmes.

The agency also ensures:

• the coordination of, in cooperation with competent national authorities and organisations, the European Information Network on Drugs and Drug Addiction (the Reitox Network);
• supporting and improving coordination between national and EU activities by facilitating the information exchange between decision-makers, researchers, specialists and others involved in governmental and non-governmental organisations;
• support for the Commission, Member States and a wide range of relevant stakeholders, including EU and international bodies, offices and agencies, the scientific community and civil-society organisations.

The agency:

• has the following management structure:
  • a management board to provide general guidance on the agency’s work and adopt the main documents of the agency, including programming and budget documents and the international cooperation framework,
  • an executive board to decide on matters not reserved to the management board and to ensure follow-up to findings and recommendations from internal and external audit reports, evaluations and investigations,
  • an executive director to manage the agency for a 5-year, renewable only once, term,
  • a scientific committee to deliver specialist opinions on scientific matters relating to the agency’s activities,
  • the Reitox Network to provide input from scientifically independent national focal points – one in each Member State – to help the agency collect and report consistent and standardised information;
• may charge fees for specific services, such as customised training, support activities and capacity-building programmes for non-EU countries.

National focal points:

• form the interface between participating countries and the agency;
• coordinate activities relating to national drug-related data collection and monitoring and collect and monitor relevant national data and transmit them to the agency;
• help develop new epidemiological data sources and relevant indicators and provide general support;
• promote the use of the internationally agreed drug-related data collection protocols and standards and implement quality assurance mechanisms.

By 3 July 2029, and every 5 years thereafter, the Commission will assess the agency’s performance, presenting its findings to the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the management board.

The regulation repeals Regulation (EC) No 1920/2006 as from 2 July 2024.