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Extended powers including risk and threat assessments
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Agency charged with monitoring, preparedness, data analysis and assessments of member state policies
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MEPs wanted to ensure multidisciplinary and evidence-based approach, dialogue with civil society
MEPs have endorsed the provisional deal from inter-institutional negotiations on creating an EU Drugs Agency.
With 592 votes in favour, 12 against, and 23 abstaining, MEPs have endorsed a provisional trilogue agreement on creating an EU Drugs Agency by extending the powers of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
The new agency would have a stronger capacity for analysis and monitoring, and a faster and more efficient early warning system. When new psychoactive substances are discovered, it would develop a risk assessment in cooperation with other EU bodies. Also, the agency would set up a European system for drug alerts, adopt health and security threat assessments to identify new developments at an early stage, help national authorities collect data, and promote best practices. The agency can also support member states, with their agreement, in developing and implementing drug-related interventions and measures, and assess these measures. Its broader mandate also allows it to respond to polysubstance use, or the consumption of multiple substances at once or in quick succession.
Balanced approach in collaboration with civil society
In the negotiations, MEPs ensured a balanced mandate for the Agency, taking into account the health, social and human rights dimensions of drug and substance use, and making sure that its research and data collection take into account age and gender perspectives. They also introduced provisions on ensuring dialogue with civil society organisations, with a dedicated contact point in the Agency for this purpose.
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After the vote, rapporteur Isabel Santos (S&D, PT) said: “In a particularly challenging time, in which health and social problems must be at the core of our action, the European Union delivers. Today’s vote on the EU Drugs Agency is a step in the right direction, towards a balanced, integrated, multidisciplinary and evidence-based approach to the drugs phenomenon, enriched by an active engagement with civil society.”
Next steps
The agreement still needs to be formally adopted by the Council of the EU. Once published in the official journal of the EU, it will enter into force the following day, and its provisions will be applied 12 months later.