WRITTEN QUESTION E-3566/96 by Ulf Holm (V) to the Council (12 December 1996)

Subject: Anti-drugs action

There has recently been another alarming report on drug abuse by young people in the Malmöhus province in south-western Sweden. It showed that the area around Malmö and Lund were the worst affected in the whole of Sweden and that one of the causes was the proximity to Denmark and the continent. Since Sweden became a Member of the EU, border checks between Sweden and Denmark have deteriorated, which has led to increased drugs trafficking across the Sound.

On its inauguration the Irish Presidency promised to give priority to action against drugs. Why are not the health and future of young people in the Eu being safeguarded by allowing the retention of proper border checks between the Member States as one of many instruments for restricting drugs trafficking and hence making access to drugs more difficult?

Answer (16 October 1997)

Article 7a the Treaty of the European Communities states that "the internal market shall comprise an area without internal frontiers in which the free movement of goods ... is ensured ...¨.

In order to maintain and develop the Union as an area of freedom, security and justice, the draft Treaty of Amsterdam includes provisions for the appropriate measures to fight drugs trafficking and other international crime.

In recent years, the Council has adopted a wide range of measures in the field of Justice and Home Affairs. In June 1993 the Ministers of Interior decided to set up the Europol Drugs Unit (EDU) which is now operating with a staff of over 100 persons from all Member States. In March 1995 the mandate of EDU was extended by a Joint Action. Among the other important measures the following can be mentioned:

- the Convention of 26 July 1995 on the establishment of a European Police Office (Europol), which should be ratified in the national parliaments by the end of 1997 to make Europol fully operative in 1998,

- the Convention of 26 July 1995 on the use of information technology for customs purposes,

- the signature of the Extradition Convention on 26 September 1996.

- the Joint Action of 14 October 1996 providing for a framework for the initiatives of the Member States concerning liaison officers,

- the Joint Action of 29 November 1996 concerning the creation and maintenance of a directory of specialized competences, skills and expertise in the fight against international organized crime, in order to facilitate law enforcement cooperation between the Member States of the European Union,

- the Joint Action of 29 November 1996 concerning the exchange of information on the chemical profiling of drugs to facilitate improved cooperation between Member States in combating illicit drug trafficking,

- the Council Resolution of 29 November 1996 on the drawing up of police/customs agreements in the fight against drugs,

- the Council Resolution of 29 November 1996 on measures to address the drug tourism problem within the European Union,

- the Council Resolution of 16 Decmber 1996 on measures to combat and dismantle the illicit cultivation and production of drugs within the European Union, and

- the Joint Action of 17 December 1996 concerning the approximation of the laws and practices of the Member States of the European Union to combat drug addiction and to prevent and combat illegal drug trafficking,

- the Joint Action of 20 December 1996 providing a common programme for the exchange and training of, and cooperation between, law enforcement authorities ("Oisin¨),

- the Council Resolution of 20 December 1996 on sentencing for serious illicit drug trafficking,

- The report of the High-level Group on Organised Crime, established at the Dublin European Council, which was endorsed at the Amsterdam European Council.

- The Grotius Programme, providing for exchanges between magistrates, agreed during the Irish Presidency.

- The strengthening of the Council Secretariat, to allow it to carry out duties in relation to the coordination of police and judicial cooperation, agreed during the Irish Presidency.

In addition there is a range of ongoing activities aiming at enhancing the fight against trafficking in drugs, eg. in the field of developing the technique of controlled deliveries, and at combating money laundering.