On April 26, 2002 the British Embassy to Bulgaria and the Center for the Study of Democracy jointly organized a discussion hosted by Mr. Ian Soutar, the British Ambassador to Bulgaria.

Mr. Keith Hellawell, the UK Anti-Drugs Coordinator delivered a lecture on the New International Anti-Drugs Agenda. Mr. Hellawell has worked with the police for 36 years as a constable and chief constable and was appointed a UK Anti-Drugs Coordinator in 1998. He is also adviser to the British PM Tony Blair.

Mr. Hellawell outlined that few countries in Europe consider drugs as a strategic issue to be included in their agenda and further efforts have to be made by the EU member countries in this direction. According to Mr. Hellawell, governments could reach an easier solution to the drugs problem through better sharing of information and better intelligence. Mr. Hellawell pointed out that the Bulgarian government considers drugs a very serious problem and that Bulgarian customs have made a considerable record of successful operations in drugs seizure in the last year. He also recommended that more attention is paid on the imports of drugs from the sea ports. The lecture was followed by a lunchtime discussion on the experience gained by the United Kingdom authorities in this important and challenging area of work with guests from the Ministry of Interior, MPs, diplomats, representatives of international organizations, and journalists.