Roadmap on anti-drug trafficiking

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    Background

    The drugs trade orchestrated by organised crime is one of the most serious security threats facing Europe today, and the situation is escalating, as clearly demonstrated by the unprecedented increase in illicit drugs available in Europe, in particular cocaine from South America. In August 2023, it took only 2 weeks for the record of 8 tonnes of cocaine seized in Rotterdam in the Netherlands to be broken by the seizure of 9.5 tonnes of the drug in the Spanish port of Algeciras. A joint analysis carried out by Europol and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) demonstrated that drug trafficking is one of the main profit-generating activities of organised crime, estimated to represent around one fifth of global crime proceeds.

    As a highly visible consequence of this threat, criminals’ global reach and iron grip on drug trafficking supply chains have led to a wave of violence in the streets. The many victims include not only rival gang members themselves, but also innocent people. Moreover, it is estimated that 6 200 people in the EU died from a drug overdose in 2021.

    The size of the threat and its worldwide reach calls for strong and sustainable action at EU and global level. The roadmap sets out 17 actions in four priority areas: to strengthen the resilience of logistics hubs with a European Ports Alliance, to dismantle criminal networks, to increase prevention efforts and to strengthen cooperation with international partners.

     

    Key points:

    In the opinion, the EESC:

    1. recommends that Member States provide their customs administrations and police forces with adequate human and technical resources, decent pay and working conditions and continued training, and include trade unions representing police and customs officials to better identify human resources and equipment needs;
    2. highlights that combating the abuse of drugs and hard drugs necessitates a more differentiated, whole-of-society approach. Drug use should be tackled more by means of preventive and accompanying measures and less through repression. The EESC strongly recommends studying the experiences of countries and regions where the use of certain drugs is now tolerated and/or the use of cannabis has been decriminalised;
    3. advocates better cross-border law enforcement coordination between police and customs authorities, and better cooperation between law enforcement and judicial authorities as well as fiscal authorities in order to combat organised crime as effectively as possible.

    The text of the draft opinion can be found here.

     

    Additional information

    Section: Employment, Social Affairs and Citizenship (SOC)

    Opinion number: SOC/784

    Opinion type: Optional

    Rapporteur: Christian Moos

    Reference: COM(2023) 641 final

    Date of adoption by section: 12/4/2024

    Result of the vote: 68 in favour/0 against/5 abstentions

    Date of adoption in plenary: 24/4/2024 – 25/4/2024

    Result of the vote:   in favour/ against/ abstentions

     

    Contacts:

    Press officer: Laura Lui   

    Press assistant: Simran Grewal       

    Tel.: 00 32 2 546 9189

    Email: Simran.Grewal@eesc.europa.eu/ laurairena.lui@eesc.europa.eu

     

    Administrator: Alessia Cova

    Tel.: +32 2 546 9426

    Email: Alessia.Cova@eesc.europa.eu