21/03/2016
The International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP) and the Government Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs (DGPNSD) lead the kick-off of the COPOLAD II Programme in Brussels.
Presidential table at the kick-off event for the Programme in Brussels.
For the next five years, FIIAPP and Spain’s Government Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs (DGPNSD) will be managing Phase II of the COPOLAD Programme. The primary objective is to boost cooperative work on drug policy between the countries of CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) and the EU (European Union).
The European Commission today held a meeting to share with the diplomatic missions before the European Union and from the CELAC information about the working areas, objectives and expected outcomes of the second phase of the Cooperation Programme on Drug Policies of the states of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union – COPOLAD II.
At the meeting, COPOLAD Director Teresa Salvador defined the programme as “capable of strengthening, improving and expanding the lines of action created in the first phase (2011-2015)”. In addition, she detailed the three most operational actions to be carried out during the programme: cooperation between the national bodies responsible for drug policies between the EU and CELAC; strengthening of the capacities of the authorities engaged in drug supply and demand reduction; and promotion of the political-technical dialogue between the EU and CELAC regarding the nature of drug problems and the best way of addressing them.
To achieve its objective, the programme has a budget of €10 million and is funded entirely by the European Commission.
Also attending the kick-off event to present their participation in the programme were Jean-Paul Joulia, Head of Unit, Regional Programmes for Latin America and the Caribbean; Francisco de Asís Babín, member of the Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs; Agustín Fernández, Director of the FIIAPP Public Administration and Social Affairs Area; and Luis Elizondo representing the Mexican diplomatic mission before the European Union. Mexico is the country that currently occupies the presidency of CELAC for the EU-LAC Coordination and Cooperation Mechanism on Drugs.
