BRUSSELS — The European Commission is set to publish a package of measures in December to further clamp down on the flow and production of street drugs in the EU, as drug-related violence in countries like Belgium or the Netherlands surges.
New rules on the precursor chemicals used to manufacture drugs, an EU Drugs Strategy, and a European action plan against drug trafficking are scheduled to land Dec. 3, according to the latest Commission agenda released Monday.
“Both the new strategy on drugs and the new legislation on precursors are in preparation,” the EU Drugs Agency told POLITICO in a statement. The Commission’s home affairs department is leading the new drug strategy and trafficking plan, while its tax department is delivering the proposal on drug precursors, EUDA said.
The current drugs strategy has guided the EU’s priorities in the area since 2021 but it will expire this year. The new strategy — and accompanying action plan — will define how Europe should tackle this escalating crisis from 2026 to 2030.
Europe is grappling with a surge in availability of cocaine, synthetic stimulants and potent opioids, alongside increasingly complex trafficking networks and rising drug-related violence, particularly in Belgium and the Netherlands. The ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp serve as a gateway for illegal narcotics to enter Europe.