This proposal provides for a targeted revision of the mandate of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, and seeks to strengthen its mandate in order to ensure that the future Agency can react effectively to new challenges, provide better support to Member States, and contribute to developments at the international level. Notably, the proposal aims to expressly cover poly-substance, i.e. other substance-based addictions when these substances are taken together with illicit drugs; to strengthen monitoring and threat assessment capabilities; to establish a laboratory to ensure that all forensic and toxicological information is available to the Agency; to reinforce the position of national focal points to ensure that they are able to provide relevant data; to establish the competence of the Agency to develop EU-level prevention and awareness raising campaigns as well as issue alerts in case particularly dangerous substances are available on the market. Finally, the proposal clarifies the role of the Agency in the international arena. At the same time, the proposal will also adapt the institutional framework of the Agency to the common approach of the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission on decentralised EU agencies.