UK and EU Drugs Agency sign agreement to share drug threat information

The UK government has signed a working arrangement with the European Union Drugs Agency that will help both sides identify dangerous substances earlier and reduce drug-related harms.

The agreement, signed in London on 13 July 2026 by Public Health Minister Sharon Hodgson and EUDA Executive Director Dr Lorraine Nolan, enables reciprocal exchanges of information on newly detected substances, emerging drug threats and high-risk drugs in circulation.

Increasingly dangerous drugs, including potent synthetic opioids and other new substances, are causing rising drug-related harms and deaths across the UK and Europe. The arrangement is intended to strengthen the collective ability to respond to emerging risks by improving the exchange of information, expertise and alerts.

Implementation will be led jointly by the Department of Health and Social Care and the Home Office. UK police and Border Force intercepted drugs on a record-breaking 269,000 occasions between March 2024 and 2025, according to the government.

The arrangement also supports wider collaboration on prevention, treatment, social reintegration and harm reduction.

Gilbert