EUDA Management Board meets to discuss Strategy 2030 and key priorities

The EUDA Management Board met in Lisbon this week to discuss the agency's future strategic direction and to review progress across a range of operational, scientific and international activities.

A central item on the agenda was an exchange of views on the development of the EUDA Strategy 2030, which will renew the agency's mission and vision, and set its priorities for the years ahead. Anchored in broad engagement, including an ongoing public consultation, the process aims to position the EUDA as a forward-looking, trusted and impact-driven agency, ready to anticipate and respond to Europe's evolving drug-related challenges. The full strategic package, comprising the strategy, its implementation plan and supporting frameworks, is scheduled for adoption in June 2027.

Over the two-day meeting (18-19 June), Board members received updates on several key areas of work, including new EUDA preparedness services, future research priorities, developments in drug precursor monitoring, the agency's AI strategy, engagement with civil society organisations and the recent completion of the first cycle of assessments of the national focal points. Presentations were also delivered on the conclusions of the Cyprus Presidency of the EU and the programme of the upcoming Irish Presidency kicking off on 1 July.

The meeting reviewed a number of governance and operational matters, including human resource and organisational development, budgetary and programming issues. The Board also adopted the EUDA Consolidated Annual Activity Report 2025, which captures the agency's achievements during the first full year under its expanded mandate.

International cooperation featured prominently in the discussions this week, with the Board adopting new Working Arrangements with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Kingdom, and with Moldova, reflecting the EUDA's commitment to strengthening partnerships beyond the European Union. Members also discussed the implementation of the agency's International Cooperation Framework and developments in cooperation with candidate countries and European Neighbourhood Policy partners.

On the second day of the meeting, the Management Board members were joined by representatives of candidates and potential candidates countries to the EU, international partners and civil society organisations for a geo-strategic discussion on 'Strengthening Europe's responses to cocaine and other psychostimulant challenges: shared insights for preparedness'. The exchange explored emerging trends and shared challenges linked to stimulant markets and supported dialogue on coordinated responses across Europe and beyond.

In the margins of the meeting, the EUDA and Peru's Comisión Nacional para el Desarrollo y Vida sin Drogas (DEVIDA) launched a new publication: Cocaine and the environment: building the foundations for measurement. This report, which explores how the environmental impact of the cocaine market can be better understood and measured, is the first in a new series of international Targeted Policy Analyses (TPAs), developed under the EUDA's expanded mandate.

This Management Board meeting underscored the importance of strong governance, strategic foresight and international cooperation in supporting the agency's work, as it continues to strengthen Europe's preparedness for current and emerging drug-related health and security threats.