YEREVAN, DECEMBER 26, ARMENPRESS. The government approved the proposal on Armenia’s joining the Pompidou Group – Council of Europe’s Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs.

The Pompidou Group is the Council of Europe’s drug policy cooperation platform. It is an inter-governmental body established in 1971 at the initiative of the then French President Georges Pompidou. It upholds the core values of the Council of Europe – human rights, democracy and the rule of law – and promotes a balanced approach in the response to drug use and illicit trafficking in drugs, supporting both demand and supply reduction. The Pompidou Group offers a forum for open debate, exchange of experiences and, as a platform for science and evidence-based innovation, it links policy, research and practice. At present the Group is made up of 39 Member States, and its technical cooperation also involves other countries all over the world, in particular around the Mediterranean.

“Given the opportunities provided by the cooperation with the Pompidou Group, as well as the low membership-fee Armenia’s membership to the Group can boost the drug trafficking activities and international cooperation by attracting not so major financial expenses from the state budget”, stated in the explanation.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan