In response to the drugs crisis affecting many European cities and regions, the Executive Committee of the European Forum for Urban Security has launched a coalition of 50 cities and regions committed to strengthening and promoting local policies to combat drug-related violence and harm. This initiative now serves as a call to action for other cities and regions to join the coalition and contribute to delivering concrete, measurable results.
Local action is essential to combatting drug-related violence and trafficking in Europe.
The EUDA 2024 report warns of the multifaceted impact of drugs in Europe. While strengthening police and judicial action (national prosecutors’ offices, dedicated police stations) is essential in the face of organised crime, it is not enough.
To combat it effectively, major investment in resilience and prevention is crucial. This means supporting individuals and groups, educating them about risky behaviour, and protecting our businesses and towns from the clutches of organised crime.
It is precisely in this area of prevention that local and regional authorities have a key role to play, in perfect complementarity with law enforcement action. Europe’s cities and regions are on the front line, faced with violence, trafficking and the challenges of social cohesion. Many of them are already developing comprehensive, innovative and effective local strategies to prevent and combat crime. These initiatives demonstrate the potential of local solutions to the challenges posed by drugs and trafficking.
Faced with the scale of the illegal drugs market, it’s easy for elected representatives and those working in the field to feel discouraged and overwhelmed. The aim of this coalition is to find, through collective action, tools to strengthen prevention and the fight against drug-related violence.
A proactive and pragmatic coalition of European cities and regions to strengthen, share and promote these promising initiatives:
- Give greater visibility to existing solutions and encourage their development.
- Strengthen and promote local drug prevention, anti-trafficking and anti-violence policies, highlighting success stories.
- Demonstrate the effectiveness of local collective action and European cooperation in disseminating and adapting existing solutions.
- To develop and disseminate innovative tools, methodologies and good practice, drawing on the positive experiences of local and regional authorities.
- Mobilise European and international policies so that local and regional authorities can obtain the resources they need to implement their strategies and meet the challenges posed by trafficking today.
- Combat the fatalism that often characterises discourse in this field.
- 20 June 2025: Bordeaux General Assembly on Preventing Drug Use and Trafficking Among Youth
- 21-22 May 2025: FFSU Workshop on Drugs and Organized Crime during the Assises in Toulouse, with two round tables: Drug Trafficking: How Our Cities and Metropolitan Areas Are Confronting Organised Crime Trafficking and Organised Crime in Local Authorities
- 2025 – DU Training Programme (Professional Security Training): Focus on drug-related issues during one of the sessions
- February 2025: Field visit to Rotterdam to discover the anti-trafficking and prevention systems in Europe’s largest port.
- December 2024: Launch of the Coalition of the Willing. Efus Executive Committee adopts a resolution calling for a coalition of European cities and regions.
- October – November 2024 – EUDA Strategic Meetings : Efus joins the EUDA in Lisbon and speaks at their conference in Brussels on drug-related violence.
- March 2024: Security, Democracy and Cities Conference (Brussels) – Key Sessions on Drugs and Trafficking
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