European Union and the Latin America/Caribbean (LAC) co-operation  in the fight against illicit drugs takes place within a well defined framework based on the wider EU international policy on drugs.

EU activities are defined by the basic principles adopted in the Political Declaration of the Special Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations on drugs (UNGASS) in June 1998, the EU Drugs Strategy and its Action Plan.

This co-operation builds on mutual understanding of shared responsibility, a balanced and evidence-based approach, and compliance with international law, including respect for human rights. In 2007 the EU and LAC sides confirmed these basic principles with the Port-of-Spain Declaration , and materialised them in common areas of cooperation (supply and demand reduction, alternative development and other drug-related issues like money laundering and customs, police and judicial cooperation). See also: EU-LAC Co-operation Projects [35 KB]

As for the institutional framework, cooperation takes place at three complementary levels:

1.Bilateral/regional level – through bilateral political dialogue and the National Indicative Programmes agreed between the European Commisson and each individual country and/or region,

2. Inter-regional level - through two existing schemes for dialogue and cooperation:

- EU-LAC Co-ordination and Co-operation Mechanism on Drugs, launched in 1995 in Madrid, with the last meeting  taking place in May 2009 in Quito (see Declaration and Annual Report )

- EU-CAN High Level Specialised Dialogue on Drugs, which first met in 1995

3. Multilateral level – through a close coordination of the EU and the GRULAC group at the annual meetings of the UN Commission of Narcotic Drugs (CND) in Vienna by seeking to co-sponsor each other’s resolutions.

 

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