EMCDDA Director Alexis Goosdeel today visited his new counterpart at Europol, Ms Catherine De Bolle in the first official meeting between the two heads of agencies.
In a wide-ranging meeting, the two Directors discussed the EMCDDA Strategy 2025 — particularly activities related to achieving the goal of a 'more secure Europe' — and a new working arrangement between the EMCDDA and Europol, due to be signed in the autumn. The first cooperation agreement between the two agencies was signed in 2001 and was reinforced in 2005.
Also under discussion were drug-related cross-border threats and cooperation in the broader setting of Justice and Home Affairs. The latter covers areas such as police cooperation and civil protection and includes working with CEPOL, the EU agency for law-enforcement training.
The meeting included the co-signing of the joint EMCDDA–Europol 2017 Annual Report on the implementation of Council Decision 2005/387/JHA on the information exchange, risk assessment and control of new psychoactive substances, due to be published later this month.
An important product of the existing partnership between the two agencies is the joint EU Drug Markets Report, a comprehensive strategic overview of drug markets in Europe, the third edition of which will be published in 2019. The Directors discussed progress in its preparation.
Catherine De Bolle was appointed Europol Executive Director on 8 March this year and officially took up her hew role in May. In the six years prior to her appointment, Ms De Bolle was General Commissioner of the Belgian Federal Police.
