WRITTEN QUESTION E-2565/01

by Rodi Kratsa-Tsagaropoulou (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 September 2001)

Subject: EU drugs policy and the situation in Greece

The latest figures published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction paint an extremely alarming picture for the Member States as a whole and for Greece in particular. According to the most recently published statistics and surveys, Greece is in sixth place for the number of deaths resulting from drug use (a 25-fold increase over the last 15 years), first place for the number of drug-related sudden deaths (a nine-fold increase over the last 15 years), second place for the number of drug-related arrests (a 3,5-fold increase over the last 10 years) and, finally, the number of people referred to treatment programmes in the country has doubled in recent times.

In the light of this situation, does the Commission believe it has taken satisfactory measures to devise an effective Community policy to prevent and combat this scourge?

Will it submit new proposals and take fresh initiatives to deal more effectively with the problem on the basis of the 2000-2004 action plan to combat drugs and the new opportunities afforded by the Treaty of Amsterdam (particularly in regard to drug control, police and judicial cooperation, the operation of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, etc.)?

Does the Commission have a satisfactory assessment of the policies pursued in Greece and what view does it take of the deterioration in the situation there?

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(24 October 2001)

The increasing trend of drug related deaths in Greece appears clearly in the Annual reports of the European Monitoring Centre for drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA). However, when making comparisons between Member States, one should bear in mind that data from some Member States are missing and that the presented figures are not directly comparable. Some of the increase in drug-related deaths in Greece may be explained by the increased availability and use of opiates, in particular heroin. Some may be due to the improved reporting practices.

It is worth noting that drug related deaths in Greece, as in the Union in general, have stabilised between 1996-1998 and there appears to be no big increase in 1999. The amount of drug-related arrests and of people referred to treatment programmes

have also risen but also here, one should be cautious on drawing conclusions since these figures may as well reflect improvements in the respective services. Unfortunately, reliable estimate on the scale of problematic drug use in Greece is still missing.

Most of the drug policy in the Union falls within the competence of the Member States. The Community Programme for Drug Prevention has funded many networks of professionals, cities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) aiming at developing best practices in drug prevention and sharing information between them. Research into the effectiveness of drug treatment has been funded by the Framework Programme for Research and Development. There are also many non-drug specific programmes that have funded drug-related activities; e.g. the URBAN programme has funded the setting up of a rehabilitation centre in Greece.

The Union Action Plan on Drugs 2000-2004(1) lists more than a hundred concrete measures to be taken to tackle drugs. The Commission, together with the Europol and the EMCDDA, has already drawn up a follow-up table listing the targets of the Action Plan together with a timetable and the responsible party for their implementation. A similar table for the Member States is under discussion. The table could also prove to be useful for the candidate countries in preparation for membership. Concerning, in particular, the law enforcement cooperation, the Commission and the Member States have listed their goals in the Scoreboard to review progress in an area ofFreedom, Security and Justicein the Union(2) based on the conclusions of the Tampere European Council of 15 and 16 October 1999.

The Commission will organise an evaluation of the Union Action Plan in the mid-term (2002) and on completion (2004). In this context, also the strategies and policies on drugs in the Union will be evaluated. The Commission is working closely with the EMCDDA and Europol to develop tools for this evaluation. The Action Plan on Drugs calls for all drug related actions to be evaluated. Evaluation is a tool for identifying best practices and benchmarking achievements and learning from experience. This information must then be shared between all the actors in the drugs field in the Union as well as with the candidate countries.

(1) COM(1999) 239 final.

(2) COM(2000) 782 final.