Our partner in Albania

The EMCDDA has developed close working relations with the Albanian Ministry of the Interior and with the Institute of Public Health of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection. This cooperation led to the financing of the first national general population survey on drugs in Albania in 2014, as well as the production of a national drug report in 2017, following the EMCDDA guidelines.

The EMCDDA and Albania also exchange expertise and data on new psychoactive substances (NPS) and are working together on the establishment of a national early-warning system (NEWS).

The Albanian government has adopted a National Action Plan on the fight against the cultivation and trafficking of cannabis for the period 2017–20.

In March 2019, Albania signed a specific Working Arrangement with the EMCDDA, which foresees a closer cooperation in the exchange on methodology of data-collection systems and on data; the exchange of expertise and of data on NPS; the exchange of experiences on health and social responses to drug problems and; the support for the harmonisation of Albanian national legislation and policies with EU legislation and policies on drug-related issues.