EU Adopts New Drug Strategy Targeting Crime and Health Services
The European Council approved a five-pillar drug strategy in December 2025 that expands monitoring, treatment access, and port security measures. The plan responds to EUDA data showing 29 million annual users and 7,600 overdose deaths.
EuronewsThe plan directs major ports to form alliances for coordinated enforcement, introduces controls on precursor chemicals, and requires member states to upgrade data systems and expand treatment capacity.
EUDA recorded 7,600 drug-induced deaths in one year, with opioids involved in most cases. Cannabis remained the most used illicit substance, followed by cocaine, while synthetic opioids such as nitazenes prompted increased emergency admissions. Wastewater analysis showed rising cocaine levels in 57 percent of monitored cities, and treatment programs for ketamine dependence quadrupled over five years.
Over five years authorities seized 1,826 tonnes of drugs at EU seaports, including 330 tonnes of cocaine in the most recent year. Criminal networks shifted some shipments to smaller ports and split loads into smaller consignments. In one year officials dismantled 42 cocaine extraction sites, 110 amphetamine laboratories, and roughly 4,000 illicit cannabis cultivation sites.
Member states must adapt national structures to deliver faster monitoring, broader prevention programs, and stronger recovery facilities. The accompanying action plan lists 19 measures, including tighter rules for high-speed boats and public-private cooperation on postal detection.
