Mr President, we are now to deal with the issue of synthetic drugs. Europe is a world leader in the manufacture of synthetic drugs. That is not a fact to be too proud of. Large quantities of LSD, amphetamines, ecstasy and other synthetic drugs are produced every day in Europe, either for domestic consumption or for export to third countries. This large-scale and often organised production is a blot on Europe’s copybook and undermines our credibility in the international struggle against organised crime. This initiative against synthetic drugs ought therefore to be warmly welcomed. The proposal is based upon a highly developed method of analysis applied by certain laboratories. Synthetic drugs have certain features in common because of the process and methods by which they are produced. Links can therefore be made between synthetic drugs confiscated on different occasions in different places. Such information enables the police more easily to identify illegal centres or networks manufacturing drugs. The method provides the police and judiciary with an excellent tool for isolating narcotics factories. The first decision is about setting up the system of special forensic profiling analysis. The Member States are obliged to send samples of certain drugs that have been confiscated to particular laboratories. At present, such laboratories unfortunately exist only in Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands. The idea is that, as soon as a laboratory in a Member State has the required competence, this laboratory will become part of the network. In that way, the relevant skills will be extended throughout the European Union. The second decision concerns the actual transmission of samples of controlled narcotic substances. The Member States are obliged to allow these to pass through their territory. They must be sent in a way that guarantees the greatest possible security so as to ensure that the transported samples are not misused. It should also be emphasised that we are talking in terms of milligrams, that is to say extremely small quantities which can scarcely be misused because they are so incredibly small. It must be emphasised that the initiative affects only the fight against the large-scale organised production of synthetic drugs, something that is prohibited throughout the EU. It therefore has nothing at all to do with the sensitive debate about what should be readily available on the street, for personal use etc. The present debate has nothing at all to do with that. Instead, we are concerned here with the organised production of synthetic drugs. It must also be underlined that the system proposed is not definitive. It is not perfect in every respect. I know that. It would be preferable if every country had its own laboratory for forensic profiling analysis but, because the technique has so far only been developed in a small number of countries, that is not the case as matters stand. At the same time, it would nonetheless be a great pity not to make use of the opportunity of getting our hands on those production units that exist within the European Union. Regarding the actual transmission system, I take the point also touched upon by certain countries such as France and, especially, Spain, to the effect that it would be good if these samples could be transmitted electronically. I completely share that view. The report also states that the method of transport must be continually reviewed. In my opinion, it would be completely wrong, however, to use such arguments to prevent the system from being introduced right now. This Parliament will certainly have an extremely important role to play when it comes to pushing the issue of electronic transmission, but I really do hope that Spain will not use this as an argument for stopping the transmissions. That would be deeply regrettable. Fortunately, the committee realised this and adopted the report unanimously. I am sorry that there are some countries in the Council which have not realised that it is just as well to get started now, for they are in fact slowing down the fight against crime. As I see it, it is downright irresponsible to weaken the fight against organised crime, just because we do not have the perfect system. It is the same argument we heard just now when we discussed transparency and public access to documents and when Sweden offered Europe a compromise. There is now every reason for us to join together in offering just such a compromise. I hope that both Parliament and the Council will support this initiative, and I want to thank young Nils Hänninger at the Ministry of Justice in Sweden who has driven this idea forward. I also want to congratulate the Swedish Presidency on this decision, which may well be the first binding decision in the area of drugs.

Political group: PPE-DE