Research and Innovation against Illicit Drugs - From Foresight to Impact

On 5 and 6 May, 100 participants drawn from an array of law enforcement entities, customs, forensics, academia, civil society, Horizon Europe projects, EU agencies and institutions came together in Brussels for a CERIS workshop on illicit drugs. The event was organised by the European Commission in cooperation with the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA).

The discussions covered the full spectrum of the drugs phenomenon, including organised crime dynamics, foresight, societal impacts, forensics, borders, innovation uptake and operational preparedness.

Over two days, participants highlighted that, although Europe generates high-quality research outputs, operational deployment remains insufficient. Several panels highlighted fragmentation as a root cause, pointing out that the issue extends across legislation and practices in Member States, but also affects data systems, institutions and operational communities themselves.

Overall, participants agreed that current systems remain too reactive, that organised crime evolves faster than public authorities, and that preparedness and foresight capabilities must become central to the EU response to ensure that authorities stay ahead of the curve. Research and innovation were consistently framed not as peripheral activities, but as critical preparedness tools and strategic resources essential for addressing shifting drug markets.

The Commission's current position on operational preparedness and strategic autonomy was largely echoed by participants, who acknowledged the need for capability development and the operational uptake of innovation. To that end, participants insisted on improving the alignment between policy, operational needs and Research & Innovation programming.

The discussions illustrated the value of CERIS as a structured cross-community platform and a bridge between policy, research and operations. Engagement within the CERIS community can help identify operational gaps at an earlier stage, while also providing a practical mechanism to integrate field-level insights into EU policy and programming discussions. The workshop also enabled direct exchanges between practitioners and researchers, operational feedback on EU-funded projects, and convergence across otherwise disconnected communities of practitioners.