Thanks to the support of the European Commission, FESAT has acquired a visibility and a strong presence in the European plan for the prevention of drug problems, offering exchanges between professionals, training sessions, thematic working groups dealing with specific problems, communication materials.

The expansion of the FESAT network is part of the development of prevention of drug problems on a European level. It is important to recognise the place and the fundamental role of drug helplines in the field of drugs and drug policy, in demand reduction, in harm reduction, in prevention and in information.

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The current FESAT action programme aims:

• To stimulate and develop co-operation between drug helplines in the member states and to enlarge the network by the addition of drug helpline services from the countries of central and eastern Europe, and from all applicant countries.
• To continue the organisation of an exchange of experience, the definition of methodological guidelines and the search for solutions to common problems.
• To improve the quality of the information, help and prevention service offered to the public on drug questions;
• To continue to organise offer training and exchange sessions to workers in drug helplines on:

1. common themes met by the services, such as working with young people, new types of use, "new" synthetic drugs, evaluation and collection of data, new technologies,
2. themes of particular interest to certain types of helplines, such as the needs of particular populations, using paid or volunteer staff and others.

• To ensure that adequate information is circulated to the different publics involved, by using appropriate communication tools;
• To improve the understanding of the phenomenon of drugs and drug abuse by making the information collected by drug helplines, as a first line source of help, more readily available, in particular information about new methods of drug use. This project will be developed in collaboration with the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, and other concerned organisations;
• To reinforce the actions of FESAT in the Member States, in developing the support given to drug helplines.