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To schedule interviews, obtain informed comment, request written contributions or receive the latest news on the agency, please contact our media relations unit:
Kathy Robertson
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Media relations and marketing
Tel: (351) 211 21 02 00/32
Fax: (351) 21 813 1711
Maria José Louro
Media relations assistant
Tel: (351) 211 21 02 00/40
Fax: (351) 21 813 1711
Archive of EMCDDA and drug-related news
30.11.2010 EU drugs agency launches new guidelines for HIV testing in injecting drug users
More injecting drug users should undergo tests for HIV, viral hepatitis and other infections such as tuberculosis, says the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA). In new guidelines published today on the eve of World AIDS Day, the agency describes how, in this group, the uptake of testing is still low in many European countries.
10.11.2010 ‘Drug problems have no age limits’ — more older drug users seeking help, says EMCDDA
‘Drug problems have no age limits,’ says the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA). In a special review published today alongside its 2010 Annual report, the agency reveals why drug use is no longer simply a ‘youth phenomenon’. Europe is experiencing a pronounced ageing of its population, around a quarter of which will be aged 65 or over by 2050. Statistics published today show that Europe’s drug-using population is also ageing and that meeting the needs of older drug users is a growing issue for treatment services. This is particularly the case in western countries which saw the EU’s first heroin epidemics in the 1980s and 1990s.
10.11.2010 Over 1 million drug users a year in treatment, but considerable challenges remain
Offering effective treatment to those with substance use problems is a central pillar of Europe’s response to drugs. According to the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA), both the quality and quantity of care available to drug users has improved considerably since the 1990s when better access to drug treatment became a drug policy priority. The EMCDDA estimates that at least 1 million people in the European Union receive some form of treatment for drug problems every year. Yet considerable challenges remain for treatment services. Heroin-related problems maintain a firm hold, both inside the EU and at its borders, and budgetary constraints become a reality in the economic downturn. These issues are explored in the Annual report 2010: the state of the drugs problem in Europe, launched today in Lisbon.
10.11.2010 Europe faces new challenges posed by changes in drug supply and use
Changes in the supply and use of established drugs and the emergence of a record number of new substances increasingly test Europe’s drug control models, says the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA). These challenges are described in the Annual report 2010: the state of the drugs problem in Europe, launched by the EMCDDA today in Lisbon. Among them: sophisticated cocaine smuggling techniques; changes in the stimulant market; widespread domestic cannabis production; and the continuous appearance of ‘legal highs’ designed to replace controlled substances.
10.11.2010 PowerPoint presentation: headlines and key facts of the 2010 Annual report
The 2010 headlines and key facts are included in a PowerPoint presentation in 22 languages.
10.11.2010 Cecilia Malmström: 'Enhanced monitoring of the movement of illegal drugs across EU borders will help our efforts to tackle organised crime'
What new challenges and threats is Europe facing in the drugs field? What are the latest legal, social, health and law-enforcement responses? How many drug users are treated in Europe every year? What are the latest trends in drug supply and drug-related crime?
These are just some of the issues to come under the spotlight in the Annual report 2010: the state of the drugs problem in Europe being launched today by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA).
08.11.2010 European Commissioner John Dalli visits EMCDDA
Mr John Dalli, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, visited the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) in Lisbon this morning for the latest update on the drug phenomenon across Europe. The meeting, with EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Götz, took place ahead of this week’s release of the Annual report 2010: the state of the drugs problem in Europe. Commissioner Dalli welcomed the report which he said offered a ‘comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the drug situation across 30 countries’.
03.11.2010 EU drugs agency signs accord with Council of Europe’s Pompidou Group
Coordinating efforts to address Europe’s drugs problem and using resources effectively were among the pledges made today by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) and the Pompidou Group of the Council of Europe in a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Strasbourg.
20.10.2010 Conference to lay groundwork for monitoring drug markets, crime and supply reduction
Drug trafficking remains one of the most productive trades for organised criminal groups in the EU today. And understanding how the illicit drug market works is a high priority of the ongoing European strategy and action plan on drugs. In this optic, the European Commission and the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) have joined forces to organise in Brussels this week the First European conference on drug supply indicators. The event is organised with the active involvement of Europol.
18.10.2010 EMCDDA and CICAD–OAS launch joint handbook on building national drug observatories
The EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) and the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD) of the Organisation of American States (OAS) launch in Montevideo today a joint handbook on Building a national drugs observatory. The handbook will be released during the fifth Ibero-American meeting of national drug observatories, being held this week in the Uruguayan capital (18–22 October).
The EMCDDA collaborates with CICAD under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2000 (1). Supporting the establishment of national drug observatories and drug information networks is a significant component of this partnership.
13.10.2010 EU drugs agency presents the latest facts, figures, trends and analysis
Consult the latest data and commentary on the drugs problem in Europe in the upcoming Annual report 2010 from the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA). The report, the agency’s flagship publication, will be released in Lisbon in November, offering an overview of the drug situation across the 27 EU Member States, Croatia, Turkey and Norway.
11.10.2010 EU drugs agency explores cooperation with Europe's closest neighbours
Europe's drug monitoring system will be showcased by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) in Brussels this week at a seminar held in the context of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). Perspectives for technical cooperation between the drugs agency and the 16 ENP partner countries will be explored at the event, with a particular focus on institution-building and boosting drug monitoring capacity. The kick-off meeting will conclude with a work plan for the period 2011–13.
29.09.2010 EMCDDA and ONDCP Directors compare policy developments and review status of cooperation
Director of the US White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), R. Gil Kerlikowske, visited the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) in
21.09.2010EMCDDA and CICAD Directors sign three-year work programme
James Mack, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), visited the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) in
24.06.2010 Injecting drug use — stable or declining in most European countries
Injecting drug use is strongly associated with severe health problems in drug users, including both blood-borne infections (e.g. HIV/AIDS, hepatitis) and overdose. But the latest analysis of this practice is encouraging, says the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA). In a new report released today ahead of International day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking (26 June), the agency describes how injecting drug use is now stable or declining in most European countries.
24.06.2010Twenty-five years’ experience in the cross-border collection and analysis of information
Wolfgang Götz has been Director of the EMCDDA since May 2005, having been appointed by the agency’s Management Board on 19 April that year. In July 2009, the Board renewed his mandate unanimously for a further five-year term commencing on 1 May 2010.
10.06.2010 EU drugs and medicines agencies sign agreement today in London
Exchanging information on new psychoactive substances and misused medicines is facilitated today, thanks to a new working arrangement signed in London this afternoon by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
The signatories were EMA Executive Director, Thomas Lönngren and EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Götz.
More information on the cooperation between the EMA and the EMCDDA
28.05.2010 Children’s voices — experiences and perceptions of children around drugs and alcohol
A collection of narratives from children on issues of substance use in Europe is released by the EMCDDA today ahead of International Children’s Day (1 June).
Alcohol and drug use in their different forms can have a profound impact on the lives of children. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children should be able to express their views in all matters touching their lives. The purpose of today’s paper — Children’s voices — is to provide a channel for such expression and offer meaning and insight into some of the key drug and alcohol issues affecting children. Around 60 000 children in Europe today are likely to be living with individuals who are receiving treatment for drug problems. And many more are living with a drug-using parent or others not in contact with treatment services.
27.05.2010 Council calls on EU scientific experts to assess risks of mephedrone
Europe has responded to rising concern over the use of the synthetic drug mephedrone by formally requesting a scientific investigation into the health and social risks of the substance. The decision was communicated to the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) by the Council of the EU today, in line with a legal procedure designed to respond to potentially threatening new psychoactive drugs in the EU.
29.04.2010 Latest analysis of cocaine market highlights ‘secondary extraction’ laboratories in Europe
Increasingly sophisticated techniques to conceal and smuggle cocaine into Europe are reviewed in a new EMCDDA–Europol market analysis — Cocaine: A European Union perspective in the global context. Published today, the review provides insight into how cocaine is produced and trafficked into the EU, the people involved, routes taken, and the scale of the problem in Europe. Also analysed are some of the supply reduction initiatives already developed at European level.
23.04.2010 Record number of new drugs reported in 2009, says report
A record number of new drugs was officially reported in 2009 to the EMCDDA and Europol via the EU early-warning system (EWS) on new psychoactive substances. This is according to the EMCDDA–Europol 2009 annual report on the implementation of the three-step legal instrument through which
21.04.2010EU drugs agency publishes major work on harm reduction: past, present and future
Harm reduction is now an integral part of contemporary drug policies and plays an important role in responding to drug use in Europe. But this has not always been the case, say the experts. In a major new scientific work on the subject published today by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA), leading European and international specialists chart how harm reduction shifted from controversy to mainstream.
25.03.2010 EMCDDA and Europol Directors review new substances entering Europe’s illicit drug market
Monitoring new substances entering Europe’s illicit drug market was the focus of talks today between the Directors of the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) and the European law enforcement agency (Europol). The two EU agencies collaborate actively in detecting and monitoring new and potentially threatening psychoactive substances entering the European market and in assessing the involvement of organised crime in their manufacture and trafficking.
28.01.2010 EU drugs agency signs accord with Ukrainian Ministry of Health
The European Union and Ukraine will share information on drugs more systematically in future, thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in Kiev today between the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) and the Ukrainian Ministry of Health. The signatories were the Ukrainian Minister of Health Vasyl Mykhailovych Knyazevich and EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Götz. The Head of the EU’s Delegation to Ukraine, Ambassador José Manuel Pinto Teixeira, also took part in the signing ceremony.
Newsletters (Drugnet) published in 2010
- Drugnet Europe 72 (October-December 2010):
PDF format | online version - Drugnet Europe 71 (July-September 2010):
PDF format | online version - Drugnet Europe 70 (April-June 2010):
PDF format | online version - Drugnet Europe 69 (January-March 2010):
PDF format | online version
Page last updated: Tuesday, 24 January 2012