According to the Treaty, a high level of human health should be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community policies and activities. Community action is required to include a contribution to the attainment of a high level of health protection.

Community action should complement national policies directed towards improving public health, obviating sources of danger to human health and reducing health-related harm associated with drug dependence, including information and prevention policies.

Given that, according to research, the morbidity and the mortality associated with drug dependence affects a sizeable number of European citizens, the health-related harm associated with drug dependence constitutes a major problem for public health.

The Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on the results of the final evaluation of the EU Drugs Strategy and Action Plan on Drugs (2000 to 2004) pointed out the need regularly to involve civil society in the formulation of the EU’s policies on drugs.

In December 2004, the European Council endorsed the EU Drugs Strategy 2005 to 2012, which covers all European Union drug-related activities and sets main targets. These targets include the attainment of a high level of health protection, well-being and social cohesion by preventing and reducing drug use, dependence and drug-related harm to health and society.

The specific programme, ‘Drug prevention and information’, established under this Decision (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Programme’) aims at implementing targets identified by the EU Drugs Strategy 2005 to 2012 and the EU Drugs Action Plans 2005 to 2008 and 2009 to 2012, by supporting projects aimed at preventing drug use, including by addressing reduction of drug-related harm and treatment methods taking into account the latest scientific knowledge.

It is important and necessary to recognise the serious, immediate and long-term implications of drugs for health, for psychological and social development including the equal opportunities of those concerned, for individuals, families and communities, and to recognise the high social and economic costs to society as a whole.

Special attention should be paid to the prevention of drug use among young people who are the most vulnerable in the population. The main challenge in prevention is to encourage young people to adopt healthy lifestyles.

The European Community can bring added value to the actions to be undertaken by Member States in the field of drug prevention and information, including treatment and reduction of drug-related harm, by complementing those actions and by promoting synergies.

Complementarity with the technical expertise of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Centre’) should be assured by making use of methodology and best practices developed by the Centre and by its involvement in the preparation of the annual work programme.

Since the objectives of this Decision cannot, because of the need for an exchange of information at Community level and for the Community-wide dissemination of good practices, be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore, due to the need for a coordinated and multidisciplinary approach and by reason of the scale and effects of the Programme, be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty. In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in that Article, this Decision does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve those objectives.

Bearing in mind the importance of visibility of the Community funding, the Commission should provide guidance to ensure that any authority, non-governmental organisation, international organisation or other entity receiving a grant under the Programme acknowledges properly the support received.

The Financial Regulation requires a basic act to be provided to cover operating grants.

The measures necessary for the implementation of this Decision should be adopted in accordance with Council Decision 1999/468/EC, with a distinction being made between those measures which are subject to the management procedure and those which are subject to the advisory procedure, the advisory procedure being in certain cases, with a view to increased efficiency, the more appropriate.

In order to ensure the effective and timely implementation of the Programme, this Decision should apply from 1 January 2007,