New EMCDDA Scientific Committee appointed for the next three years

On 13 December, the EMCDDA Management Board appointed 15 high-level scientists to serve on the agency’s Scientific Committee for the period 2020–22.
The selection followed a call for expressions of interest in the Official Journal of the European Union in April this year, which yielded 78 eligible applications.

The 15 members — selected from EU Member States, Norway and Turkey — were chosen, following a public selection process, on the basis of scientific merit, independence and expertise in the most relevant scientific fields linked to the problems of drugs and drug addiction today. Almost half of the scientists appointed are new members, while eight previously served on the Committee. As members are appointed in a personal capacity, they are required to give their opinions independently of their country and of the EU institutions.

The Scientific Committee plays a major role in the EMCDDA’s endeavour to attain scientific excellence. The agency consults the Committee on the quality of its work programmes and on any scientific matter concerning its activity, which the Management Board or the Director may submit to it.

The Management Board also approved a list of experts to be called upon by the EMCDDA Director for the purposes of assessing the risks posed by new psychoactive substances (NPS) — one of the agency’s core tasks.

The mandate of the current Committee and risk assessment experts draws to a close at the end of 2019. The EMCDDA would like to thank the outgoing experts for their hard work and their role as guardians and advocates of the scientific integrity of the agency over two consecutive terms (2014–16 and 2017–19).

Further details on the new Scientific Committee will be available in January 2020.