WRITTEN QUESTION E-2653/98

by Friedhelm Frischenschlager (ELDR) to the Council

(1 September 1998)

Subject: EU drugs policy

The debate about the European Union's future drugs policy is scheduled to continue under the Austrian Council Presidency, which will also see a conference in Vienna this autumn. The archaic law-and-order approach, which is characterised by exclusively criminal, police and military measures to combat drugs (even soft drugs) increasingly appears to be giving way to a modern, problem-solving policy.

What are the key aspects of reforms relating to drugs policy that the EU Council Presidency intends to propose in the second half of the year? Where the de facto toleration of the consumption of soft drugs is concerned, will the Council Presidency propose such a policy to its EU partners, on the basis of the positive experiences gained in Austria, the Netherlands, etc.? Will these proposals also include decriminalising the consumption of soft drugs, which is regarded in many quarters as a necessary precondition for therapeutic measures vis-à-vis drug addicts?

Where hard drugs are concerned, given the positive experiences gained in Switzerland and other countries, will proposals regarding the issue of such drugs, or of substitute drugs, under medical supervision, for therapeutic purposes, form part of the European Union's future strategy for dealing with drugs?

What practical police measures does the Presidency intend to propose to combat organised drug trafficking and the international crime associated therewith? Have any such measures already been decided or (which is more important) put into practice?

Does the Presidency recognise the development policy aspect of the drugs problem (poverty in the producer countries, lack of market access for alternative products, etc.), and will it put forward corresponding proposals in connection with development cooperation and also foreign trade arrangements?

Reply

(18/19 January 1999)

The Council's work on the subject of drugs under the Austrian Presidency has in particular been conducted in line with the undertakings entered into at the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly held from 8 to 10 June 1998. On that basis, the Austrian Presidency has developed a programme of work giving priority to a comprehensive approach that strikes a balance between activities aimed at reducing both demand and supply.

Emphasis has also been placed on fine-tuning - and defining - regional cooperation strategies targeting Latin America and Central Asia respectively.

Priority has further been given to implementing the two acts adopted in 1996 and 1997, viz. the Joint Actions on the approximation of laws and practices and on synthetic drugs respectively.

Regarding the Honourable Member's specific questions, it should be noted that:

- the Council has not examined any proposals on the issue, under medical supervision, of hard or substitute drugs for therapeutic purposes;

- the entry into force of the Europol Convention on 1 October 1998 and the impending start-up of that organisation's activities will afford a new dimension to the combating of international drug trafficking and related international crime;

- as emphasised by the Honourable Member, the drugs problem has a development policy aspect; accordingly, work on that subject features centrally in the action plan for Latin America.