On 2 June 2024, an official ceremony was held in Lisbon to mark Germany’s accession to the international organisation MAOC-N (Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre – Narcotics). MAOC-N was established in Portugal’s capital by EU law enforcement authorities and other partners in 2007 to take action against drug trafficking by sea and air. Its partner countries are France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, the UK and now also Germany.

Stopping drug shipments

In 2023 alone, MAOC-N was instrumental in the interception of narcotics with a market value of €5.5 billion, thus preventing them from reaching the European market. Following Germany’s accession, liaison officers from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) are now able to exchange and analyse information on suspected narcotics deliveries, above all by sea, with their international partners. MAOC-N’s main task is to coordinate the deployment and operation of vessels and aircraft during joint operations in the fight against drug trafficking. The country leading the investigation then decides whether a vessel is to be intercepted and how the operation is to be carried out. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser said that Germany’s membership in the Lisbon-based Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre was an important step, as was the establishment of the new EU agency to advance the EU’s fight against drug crime.

New EU Drugs Agency

The new EU Drugs Agency, with significantly enhanced competencies and tasks, has also taken up its work. This EU agency replaces the former European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction and is also based in Lisbon. The new agency’s main task is to collect, analyse, assess and provide data on drug trafficking and drug consumption. With the well-established network of national contact points (for Germany: the German Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction) and a new network of national forensic and toxicological laboratories, the EU Drugs Agency will be in a better position to compile information.

Early warning system

This package of measures is intended to enable even more efficient and faster assessments and reports as part of an early warning system, providing all EU member states with a basis for effective action and intervention.