2004 discharge: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction

PURPOSE : presentation of the final accounts of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

CONTENT : this document published in the Official Journal of the EU sets out a detailed account of the implementation of the 2004 budget, including the revenue and expenditure and the balance sheet for the year concerned.

According to this document, the final budget amounted to EUR 12,2 million (compared to EUR 10,5 million in 2003) including a 96% Community subsidy.

As regards the staffing policy, the Monitoring Centre, whose headquarters is based in Lisbon (Portugal), officially set out 77 posts in its establishment plan. 61 posts are currently occupied + 22 other staff (auxiliary contracts, contract staff and employment-agency staff) totalling 83 staff assigned to operational, administrative and IT support tasks and mixed duties. Staff expenditure amounted to EUR 5,8 million.

Its main task is to collect data on drugs and drug addiction in order to prepare and publish information that is objective, reliable and comparable at European level. The information is intended to provide a basis for analysing demand for drugs and ways of reducing both it and drug-market-related events in general. The Monitoring Centre runs a computerised network for the collection and exchange of information called the ‘‘European Information Network on Drugs and Drugs Addiction’’ (Reitox);

this network connects the national druginformation networks, the specialist centres in the Member States and the information systems of international organisations working with the Monitoring Centre. In 2004, it published :

- an annual report on the state of the drug problem in the European Union (20 language versions, publication and interactive website);

- bulletin of statistics and interactive website containing over 100 tables;

- a general report of activities (annual, EN);

- newsletter, Drugnet Europe (4 issues in five languages, 20 products);

- policy briefings, Drugs in Focus (3 issues, 21 languages, 63 products);

- country situation summaries - for the 25 Member States (interactive website);

- publications in the EMCDDA series: 1 Monograph, 2 Risk assessments, 1 Insights;

- Snapshot 2004 - report and 10 thematic papers - publication and website;

- 20 scientific studies;

- presentation brochure (in the ten new languages);

- complete restructuring of main website.

The total operational expenditure amounted to roughly EUR 3,5 million. A positive balance of EUR 1,9 million was presented for the financial year 2004.

The complete version of the final accounts may be found at the following address:

http:www.emcdda.eu.int/?nnodeid=6465