EESC opinion: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

EESC opinion: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

Key points:

  • The EESC underlines that civil society organisations that deal with drug issues should be involved in the work of the EMCDDA.
  • The EESC welcomes the changed legal basis for the proposal. Proper consultation with the European Parliament is natural here, not least in order to guarantee public transparency in the EMCDDA. Under the new proposal the Parliament is given an enhanced role, including the right to designate two independent experts with specialist knowledge in the field of drugs as members of the Centre's management board. The Committee strongly recommends that the two independent experts should be from NGOs with expertise in the field of drugs.
  • The European Information Network consists of national focal points which form an interface between the participating countries and the Centre. The Committee recommends that the Centre's guidelines and agreements with Member States should require the focal points to work together with national organisations, including NGOs, which are active in the drugs field.