Today, EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdeel joined Europol Executive Director Catherine De Bolle in The Hague to discuss future cooperation.
In a wide-ranging meeting, the Directors discussed the current drug situation and potential future threats relating to drug-related crime and drug markets. Future activities involving the two agencies will include the development of platforms for monitoring criminal activity in darknet drug markets, improving intelligence gathering, and a European Conference on Drug Supply in 2023.
Other matters for discussion included the provision of support for Ukraine, countering internet-based crime, and the EMCDDA’s ongoing development of the EU Early Warning System (EWS) on new psychoactive substances, which celebrates 25 years on 16 June.
The two agencies share many issues of common interest, since drug-related criminality frequently overlaps with other areas including terrorism, migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings. The original cooperation agreement between Europol and the EMCDDA was signed in 2001. A new working arrangement between the two agencies was signed in 2018.
