EU leaders eye coordinated response to growing drug trade

Published on

19/06/2026 - 17:43 GMT+2

The booming European drug market is causing so many problems that, for the first time, challenges linked to the use and trafficking of drugs were discussed at the EU leaders' level this Friday.

"As the home of one of the biggest ports in Europe, my country has gained a simple but central knowledge: organised crime knows no boundaries," Bart De Wever, Belgium's Prime Minister, told reporters after the meeting in Brussels. "Therefore, our answer to this threat must not end at the borders."

Europe's rapidly expanding drug market, estimated to be €31 billion-strong, includes the growing availability of new psychoactive substances and complex supply chains that involve encrypted apps and online markets.