EC - Audiovisual Service.
Photographer: Aurore Martignoni.
Today, the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA) is honoured to be welcoming Dubravka Šuica, European Commissioner for the Mediterranean.
Commissioner Šuica is responsible for advancing the European Union’s partnerships with the Mediterranean region and countries across the Southern Neighbourhood area, fostering cooperation grounded in shared values and dialogue. The Commissioner leads the work on the Pact for the Mediterranean: One Sea, One Pact, One Future, presented in October 2025, building partnerships focused on investment, economic stability, jobs, energy, transport, security, migration and other areas of mutual interest.
The focus of today’s visit will be on the EUDA’s work in cooperating with Mediterranean partners, specifically on drug-related threats and challenges in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The meeting will discuss, among others, how the agency can contribute to the EU vision on people, economy, security, preparedness and migration management.
During the visit, Commissioner Šuica will meet EUDA experts working on partnerships and innovation, international cooperation and the agency’s EU4Monitoring Drugs II (EU4MD II) project. The EU4MD II project is an EU-funded initiative, running until 2027, that aims to strengthen collaboration and exchange expertise on drugs with countries in the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) area.
The EUDA was given a stronger international role when it replaced the EMCDDA on 2 July 2024 (1). This new role strengthens the agency’s capacity to monitor and analyse the external dimension of the drugs problem and increase EU preparedness on drugs. Its new International Cooperation Framework (ICF), defines the agency’s vision and priorities for enhancing global collaboration on drug-related challenges.
The Commissioner’s visit to the agency forms part of a wider programme of engagements in Portugal this week, where she has attended the EU-MENA countries ministerial conference: ‘Towards a regional political dialogue on enhancing security cooperation’ in Estoril.
