ROME, 14 May 2026 – The second Inter-Parliamentary Conference on the Fight Against Organized Crime in the OSCE Region opened today at the Chamber of Deputies in Rome. Hosted by the Italian Parliament at the initiative of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Vice-President and Special Representative on Combating Organized Crime Eugenio Zoffili (Italy), the two-day event brings together over 150 parliamentarians and experts from more than 40 OSCE participating States under the theme "#STOPDRUGS – Fighting Drug Trafficking together to Defend Security, Health and the Rule of Law."
Secretary General Roberto Montella, President of Italian Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana, Vice-President Eugenio Zoffili and President Pere Joan Pons, Rome, 14 May 2026The conference follows up on the first edition held in Rome in June 2025 by focusing on the growing threat of drug trafficking – particularly the spread of synthetic opioids and fentanyl – and the financial networks that sustain criminal organizations across the OSCE region.
The event was opened by President of the Chamber of Deputies Lorenzo Fontana and featured opening remarks by Vice-President Eugenio Zoffili, OSCE PA President Pere Joan Pons (Spain), Undersecretary of State at the Ministry of the Interior Nicola Molteni and OSCE PA Secretary General Roberto Montella.
Vice-President Zoffili stressed the need to help young people escape drug addictions, which often lead to desperation and tragedy. "Drug trafficking is not just a serious public order problem, it is a threat to the stability of our democracies and the security of our citizens,” he said in his opening remarks. “Mafias thrive on the trafficking of illicit substances. Every drug is a commodity and a source of profit for organized crime. Fighting drugs means fighting the mafia. And fighting the mafia means fighting drugs."
President Pons praised Italy's experience and leadership in fighting criminal organizations that seek to accumulate wealth and power at the expense of citizens and states, noting that the new geopolitical landscape demands co-ordinated parliamentary approaches to terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime. "We need to understand where organized crime and drug trafficking are heading in a hyperconnected world of high mobility," he said. "These phenomena represent concrete risks for the security of our region and require a co-ordinated parliamentary response, which is exactly what the citizens we represent expect of us."
Vice-President and Special Representative on Combating Organized Crime Eugenio Zoffili opens the conference, Rome, 14 May 2026Secretary General Montella highlighted the unique role of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly in addressing threats that transcend national borders, emphasising that criminal networks exploit legal gaps between jurisdictions. "No single parliament, no single government, can dismantle them alone," he said. "But every country is affected, and every country has a duty to act."
The first afternoon session addressed one of the most pressing security and public health crises in the OSCE region: the rapid spread of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The session brought together senior representatives from the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Italian Ministry of the Interior’s Central Directorate for Anti-Drug Services, the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Health, and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Speakers explored the evolving threat landscape in the OSCE region and Italy's pre-emptive National Plan for the prevention of synthetic opioid misuse as a model for integrated interagency governance. Discussions also focused on the growing misuse of synthetic substances among young people, the rapid evolution of online drug markets, and the increasing use of cryptocurrencies and postal systems by criminal networks. Participants stressed the importance of prevention through education and awareness campaigns, as well as the urgent need for stronger intelligence-sharing, early-warning mechanisms, and international co-operation across the OSCE area.
Session I on ."the silent wave: the threat posed by Fentanyl and synthetic opioids", Rome, 14 May 2026The second session turned to the human dimension of the drug crisis: recovery, prevention, and the essential role of therapeutic communities in rebuilding lives damaged by addiction. The discussion featured representatives from therapeutic and rehabilitation communities, the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (CICAD), the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, and the Heritage Foundation. Speakers stressed that effective drug policy must place the individual at the centre of care and move from a culture of emergency and reaction to one of prevention, anticipation and long-term support. Discussions highlighted the growing mental health challenges and loneliness affecting young people, the importance of integrated care systems combining early intervention, education, rehabilitation and social reintegration, and the need to strengthen communities, schools and local networks as active partners in prevention and recovery.
Ahead of the conference, OSCE PA President Pons held a bilateral meeting with the President of the Italian Chamber of Deputies Fontana. The two leaders underscored the importance of inter-parliamentary diplomacy in addressing shared security challenges, praised Italy's longstanding and internationally recognized leadership in combating organized crime, and exchanged views on the ongoing war in Ukraine and its implications for the OSCE region.
The conference will continue on Friday morning with a private audience with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican City. Subsequently, the conference will conclude with a session on "'Follow the Money: Targeting Proceeds and Dismantling Criminal Networks," benefitting from the expertise of the Italian National Anti-Mafia Prosecutor Giovanni Melillo, of senior officials from the Guardia di Finanza and the OSCE's Strategic Police Matters Unit.
The conclusions of the conference will feed into the OSCE PA Annual Session in The Hague.
Videos of the conference is available here.
Photos from the event are available on the OSCE PA Flickr page here.
