Latin America and the Caribbean meet to assess the contribution of COPOLAD

The FIIAPP, through the drug policy cooperation programme between Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union (COPOLAD II), organised a meeting on the “COPOLAD contribution to the work of the CELAC-EU Drug Coordination and Cooperation Mechanism”.

Within the framework of this meeting, COPOLAD, a programme financed by the European Commission, was held in Brussels with around 70 representatives of the CELAC National Drug Agencies and diplomatic representatives participating in the technical committees and high-level meetings of the CELAC-EU Drug Coordination and Cooperation Mechanism. For three days, 30 countries were in Brussels for one of the final meetings held within the framework of the second phase of COPOLAD, which will wrap up in June 2020.

The CELAC-EU Drug Coordination and Cooperation Mechanism was a beneficial space for dialogue between the regions of Latin America, the Caribbean and the European Union. The meeting served to identify common priorities in many policy areas with coordination and cooperation as their best weapons for facing the challenges of the global drug problem.

The meeting was also an opportunity to exchange experiences between regions, leading to the development of an excellent relationship in terms of related policies, and excellent progress and improvements in the area in recent years.

During the session, participants discussed the progress stemming from synergies between COPOLAD and the Mechanism and the important role of the CELAC Diplomatic Missions in Brussels before the EU and the importance of coordination between the Drug Agencies and these Missions. Also, within the framework of the activities, COPOLAD organised visits to the headquarters of the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS).