Andorra Joins European COPAJ Project to Combat Youth Addictions in Pyrenees

Andorra is joining the European COPAJ project, a cross-border effort with Catalonia and southern France to combat addictions among 16- to 25-year-olds in Pyrenean regions. The initiative targets rising issues with alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, synthetic drugs, vaping, and nitrous oxide, especially in mountain border zones where prevention services are scarce and youth mobility is high for studies, sports, leisure, and tourism.

Funded by €1.84 million from the Interreg POCTEFA programme via the European Regional Development Fund, COPAJ will span 2025 to 2028 and involve 12 organisations from France, Spain, and Andorra. France’s Fédération Addiction leads the project at the initiative of the Occitanie Regional Health Agency (ARS).

Andorra’s participation, managed by the Ministry of Health through the National Plan against Drug Dependence, aims to strengthen ties with neighbouring health systems amid constant cross-border population flows. The principality acts as a key hub, its commercial and nightlife appeal potentially influencing youth consumption patterns, while prevention remains largely organised at national levels.

The project will create shared governance among public institutions, health services, social organisations, and educators to overcome language, legal, and organisational barriers. Key actions include developing common tools for early risk detection and referral, coordinated prevention campaigns, mobile units for remote Pyrenean areas, and professional exchanges on data and best practices. It will also extend coordination to education and social services, addressing diverse youth needs from nightlife scenes to isolated vulnerabilities.

Anne Geny, ARS Occitanie’s regional lead for addictions projects, said the effort would improve early detection, streamline access to care, and boost service links, offering a model replicable at other EU borders. Martine Lacoste, Fédération Addiction vice-president, called for prevention tailored to real youth habits in bars, parties, and late-night spots, with outreach to those who avoid conventional help. Organisers noted current systems often operate in silos despite consumption flows ignoring borders.