Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) 7 project activities
The EMCDDA cooperates with candidate and potential candidates to the EU since 2008, by developing and implementing technical cooperation projects financed by the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) of the European Commission. The ultimate goals of these projects are to familiarise the beneficiaries with EU policies and working methods and to prepare them for participating in the work of the EMCDDA. The EMCDDA launched the IPA7 technical cooperation project in July 2019.
IPA7 – Stepwise integration of the IPA beneficiaries in the activities of the EMCDDA and the Reitox network – comprises six beneficiaries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Kosovo*, Montenegro and Serbia.
About
Timetable: July 2019 – December 2022
Overall goal: to ensure that IPA II beneficiaries are able to participate effectively in the activities of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the Reitox network upon accession.
This goal is divided into two specific objectives.
- Specific objective 1: To support the approximation to and adoption of the EU acquis in the IPA II beneficiaries in the area of Rule of Law and in particular in the drug information field. This specific objective will build on the previous activities undertaken by the EMCDDA with regard to the development of a national drug information system aligned with the EU drugs information; namely the establishment of an operational National Drug Observatory (national focal point) and a national early warning system (NEWS), in each of the beneficiary countries.
- Specific objective 2: To increase the evidence on cross-border drug-related health and security threats in the Western Balkan region, and to support the responses to these threats. The position of Western Balkans on the main heroin trafficking route to the EU and the production and trafficking of cannabis represent a substantial burden in the region as well as a serious public health and security threat for the EU. This specific objective will extend the available information beyond the core EMCDDA reporting, building on existing national and regional structures and using alternative data sources, while promoting the integrated, evidence-based and balanced EU approach on drugs. The knowledge and findings of activities conducted for this objective will build on the experience of previous IPA projects conducted by the EMCDDA, informing and extending the participating counties’ and EMCDDA’s understanding of drug markets in the region and the related threats. This will contribute to the formulation of both strategic and operational priorities and activities.
Activities
News
Media resources
- EMCDDA beyond EU borders: spotlight on pre-accession partners (IPA) (video)
- European Web Survey on Drugs 2021 - Promotional video (available in Albanian; Macedonian; Montenegrin/Serbian)
- IPA7 participants at the 2020 European Drugs Summer School
- IPA7 — working with the EMCDDA
Beneficiaries
The EMCDDA cooperates with candidate and potential candidates to the EU since 2008 by developing and implementing technical cooperation projects financed by the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) of the European Commission. The ultimate goals of these projects are to familiarise the beneficiaries with EU policies and working methods and to prepare them for participating in the work of the EMCDDA.
Partners
*Kosovo: This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.