EMCDDA, Europol sign agreement

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, March 16 (UPI) -- Europol and the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction have signed a cooperation deal to continue combating the flow and use of illicit drugs.

EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Gotz and Europol Director Max-Peter Ratzel signed an agreement Monday to continue and strengthen cooperation.

The deal between EMCDDA and Europol, the European Union's police organization, is part of an effort to combat the use of narcotics in Europe and target transnational criminal groups that traffic drugs, Europol reported.

Officials said the EMCDDA-Europol agreement promotes greater information and intelligence-sharing and establishes a formal working relationship between the two organizations through 2012.

"The common goal for EMCDDA and Europol is to give the public and law enforcement colleagues a better understanding of the illegal drug phenomenon and to create knowledge as a useful support for drug policy decision-making," a news release said.