This week, the EUDA hosted the Belgian National Drug Commissioner, Ine Van Wymersch, during her two-day visit to Lisbon. Ms Van Wymersch was accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Fabien Gerard and other members of the Belgian National Drug Commission.
During the visit, on 3 June, the delegation received an in-depth overview of the agency’s work. EUDA Executive Director Alexis Goosdeel presented the agency’s new mandate and its current state of implementation. EUDA experts followed, with briefings on key areas of the agency’s activity, including drug markets, crime and precursors, prison-related drug issues, and innovations in monitoring trends in drug use, related harms, and addictive behaviours. The briefings also covered the EU Early Warning System on new psychoactive substances, the European Drug Alert System and the European Network of Forensic and Toxicological Laboratories, with a particular focus on the rise of new synthetic opioids.
On 4 June, the delegation visited MAOC-N — the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics) — following Belgium’s official accession to the organisation in July 2024.
