New report highlights wide-ranging impacts of EU drug markets on health and security.

Why gender matters in drug addiction

Europeans are spending at least EUR 30 billion on drugs each year at retail level, making the drug market a major source of income for organised crime groups in the European Union. This figure is announced today in the EU Drug Markets Report released by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) and Europol ⁽¹⁾. Around two-fifths of this total (39%) is spent on cannabis, 31% on cocaine, 25% on heroin and 5% on amphetamines and MDMA ⁽²⁾. 

The two agencies have joined forces to provide their third state-of-the art overview of the European illicit drug market. The report covers trends along the supply chain from production and trafficking to distribution and sales. It describes how the drug market has wide-ranging impacts on both health and security and how a holistic approach is crucial for effective drug control policies. 

Presenting the report’s findings today, Dimitris Avramopoulos, European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship said: ‘Organised crime groups are quick to seize new opportunities for financial gain and are increasingly exploiting technological and logistical innovations to expand their activities across international borders. At the same time, drugs are now more accessible to European consumers, often via social media and the internet. Today’s report proves once again that the illicit drug market remains a threat to the health and security of our citizens. We will continue working relentlessly with our Member States and international partners on strengthening our fight against drugs in all its aspects; for our youth, our citizens, our society.’

The strategic and action-oriented analysis combines data from the EMCDDA’s drug monitoring system with Europol’s operational intelligence on organised crime. The latest data ⁽³⁾ show that overall drug availability within Europe remains ‘very high’ and that consumers have access to a wide variety of high-purity and high-potency products at steady, or falling, prices….Press Release

Eva Schlunke
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Europol reports: The Polish Border Guard (Straż Graniczna) under the supervision of the regional prosecutor’ s office and supported by Europol, dismantled an organised crime group involved in migrant smuggling and facilitation of irregular migration. 

On the action day, Polish law enforcement officers arrested 17 suspected members of the criminal network, four of which believed to be the main organisers are being held in custody. During the operation, electronic devices (mobile phones, computers), paper versions of documents of the registered companies used to facilitate the illegal immigration, were seized.

Active since 2012, the organised crime group facilitated the illegal border crossing of citizens from eastern Europe, Asia and Africa mainly to Poland, to other EU countries and the United States. 

The criminal network collaborated with criminals from different countries, primarily Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, to facilitate the entry of the non-EU nationals to Poland with visas based on fake employment documentation. Once in the EU, they were able to move freely and work illegally in other EU countries, mainly Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden. 

The criminal group facilitated the illegal border crossing of at least 13 019 non-EU citizens and earned more than €2.3 million from their illegal activity. 

Europol supported the investigation with analytical, operational and coordination support. During the operation, Europol deployed an expert on-the-spot to cross-check operational information in real-time against its databases and provided technical expertise for the analysis of the seized devices. Facilitation of Illegal Immigration

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There are three types of hybrid warfare.

The first, often labelled as an attack on governance, uses legal means to undermine democratic liberal societies by inserting foreign influence or trying to gain financial and economic leverage over our normal democratic processes. Examples of this type of influencing are all around us: Russian television stations or news agencies and China’s 10% ownership of EU ports as well as its assertive presence in the South China Sea. To successfully respond, we have no other choice than making sure that we are working hard to assert our own democratic values and economic models. We simply need to out-communicate and outbid our adversaries.

The second type of hybrid warfare consists of the more brazen, illegal attempts to undermine and polarise our societies by sowing fear and mistrust. This is achieved by carrying out orchestrated attacks against the core elements of our social cohesion: free and fair elections, critical infrastructure and IT networks, the credibility of news and information, and the integrity of our business and financial transactions.

The third – and the most dangerous – type of hybrid warfare means using the aforementioned strategies as preparation and prelude for a military attack. This happened in Ukraine in March 2014 when Russian Special Forces, posing as “little green men”, seized the institutions, transport links, ports and communication channels of Crimea, thus preventing a Ukrainian response. While conflicts of…Friends of Europe.org
The vital role of public-private partnerships in countering hybrid threats/ Nov 2019
HYBRID AND TRANSNATIONAL THREATS

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