The Executive Director of EUDA, Alexis Goosdeel, made a critical call for action to the EU's partners and Member States, calling on them to unite against the growing threat posed by new synthetic opioids.
In his speech, the new synthetic opioids, European preparedness and response, stressed the urgent need for coordinated action. Mr Goosdeel made a call to the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), where he presented the work of the new agency and the state of the drugs problem in Europe.
We just need to look to North America to see what could happen if we don't act, and he warned by reference to how the spread of synthetic opioids devastated communities and caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. Mr Goosdeel drew attention to two important emerging threats. - the potential disruption of heroin supplies to Europe from Afghanistan (after a ban on poppy cultivation in 2022), which could lead users to strong synthetic opioids. - the increasing availability of new dangerous synthetic opioids such as nitazens increases the risk of overdose in Europe. This development creates the conditions for a perfect storm, and he warned.
Mr Goosdeel outlined a proactive EUDA approach to act today to anticipate tomorrow. This includes the development of innovative pan-European drug alert and threat assessment services and cooperation with Member States to create a new network of forensic and toxicological laboratories that will generate data and exchange information on new developments and trends.
We need to be vigilant and ready for the potentially significant threats we face, " he said. "Preparation is inevitably combined by effort. EU countries face similar threats and we must act together if we want to succeed. The call for action is anchored in the EUDA service models for the future, which focuses on four key features: Anticipating, Warning, Responding and Learning. The entire call is published:https://www.euda.europa.eu/drugs-library/call-action-new-synthetic-opioids-european-preparedness-and-response en

The presentation is published:https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/webstreaming/committee-on-civil-liberties-justice-and-home-affairs 240930-1500-COMMITTEE-LIBE