Director Alexis Goosdeel was in Belgium today where he met with Willy Demeyer, Mayor of Liège and currently President of the European Forum for Urban Security (EFUS). The purpose of the meeting was to explore possible cooperation between the EMCDDA and the forum.
Founded by the Council of Europe in 1987, EFUS is a network of some 250 local and regional authorities from 16 countries. Among its aims are to: promote a balanced vision of urban security; support local and regional authorities in conceiving, implementing and evaluating their local security policies; and help local elected officials gain recognition for their role in developing and implementing national and European policies.
Mr Demeyer has been Mayor of Liège since 1999. His former roles include: member of the Walloon Regional Parliament (2004–2005); Vice-President of the Belgian Senate (2009–2017) and member of the Chamber of Representatives (2014–2017). He is currently member of the Commission investigating the terrorist attacks of March 2016 in Belgium and is Vice-President of the International Association of Francophone Mayors.
Mr Goosdeel presented the agency’s ongoing activities under the EMCDDA Strategy 2025, which is built on the two pillars of health and security.
