Visit of German delegation to the EUDA

On its first day as the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), Executive Director Alexis Goosdeel welcomed a German delegation at the EUDA premises in Lisbon. The delegation included Christian Klos, Director General for Public Security; Robert Lagemann, Senior Policy Officer in the Division of Serious and Organised Crime in the German Ministry of Interior and Community; Sven Kornmayer, Liaison Officer of the Federal Criminal Office to Portugal; and Jakob Jurczyk-Bäumer, Head of Economic and Press Affairs at the German Embassy.

During the visit, discussions centred on the EUDA’s enhanced international role, the importance of a comprehensive approach to addressing the drugs phenomenon and the new European Drug Alert System and network of forensic laboratories to be established later this year. Key topics also included developments in the opium market, the latest insights into poppy cultivation in Afghanistan, and the evolving heroin trafficking routes to Europe.

The German delegation sought information on the potential emergence of fentanyl derivatives in the European market. Andrew Cunningham, Head of the Markets, Crime, and Supply Reduction Sector at the EUDA, provided detailed insights, including the recent detection of nitazenes by EU Member States reported to the EU Early Warning System (EWS), that represent a growing health threat. In 2023, these highly potent synthetic opioids were linked to a sharp rise in deaths and localised poisoning outbreaks in some European countries.

The visit underscores the importance of international collaboration in addressing complex drug-related challenges and highlights the EUDA's commitment to providing valuable insights and support to its partners.