DUSHANBE, March 18, 2013, Asia-Plus — On Saturday March 16, Rustam Nazarov, Director of the Drug Control Agency (DCA) under the President of Tajikistan met here with representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS) Vytenis Benetis and Mauri Pasanen, according to the DCA press center.
Tajik drug control chief reportedly informed the EEAS representatives of the current drug situation in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and the Central Asian region as a whole.
He also briefed them on the measures taken by the Tajik government against the drug trafficking and cooperation between officers from Tajik law enforcement agencies their counterparts from neighboring countries in combating the drug trafficking.
The sides also considered issues related to bilateral and regional cooperation in combating terrorism and extremism as well as prospects of expansion of cooperation after withdrawal of the NATO-led forces from Afghanistan in 2014, the source said.
The European External Action Service (EEAS) is a European Union (EU) department that was established following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on December 1, 2009. It was formally launched on December 1, 2010 and serves as a foreign ministry and diplomatic corps for the EU, implementing the EU”s Common Foreign and Security Policy and other areas of the EU”s external representation. The EEAS is under the authority of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR), a post also created by the Treaty of Lisbon, whom it assists.
The EEAS manages the EU”s response to crises, has intelligence capabilities and cooperates with the Commission in areas which it shares competence with. However, although the High Representative and the EEAS can propose and implement policy, it will not make it as that role is left to the Foreign Affairs Council which the High Representative chairs.
The EEAS is unique and independent from other EU institutions, formed by merger of the external relation departments of the Council and the European Commission, sitting outside those institutions and it also has its own independent budget.
