WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1112/96 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Statements by the President of the Portuguese Assembly in favour of legalizing drugs
Date: 1996-05-13
Institutions: European Parliament, FERNANDEZ ALBOR
Subjects: Portugal, action programme, approximation of laws, competence of the Member States, drug addiction, narcotic













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91996E1112

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 1112/96 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Statements by the President of the Portuguese Assembly in favour of legalizing drugs  


Official Journal C 322 , 28/10/1996 P. 0031 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-1112/96 by Gerardo Fernández-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (13 May 1996)Subject: Statements by the President of the Portuguese Assembly in favour of legalizing drugsSpeaking before more than 150 specialists from all over the world at the International Conference on Drugs, the President of the Portuguese Assembly declared himself emphatically in favour of legalizing drug use and urged those attending the meeting to consider and discuss, in depth and without prejudice, the liberalization of narcotics consumption.The specialists meeting in Lisbon to discuss the impact of drugs on present-day society were clearly astonished at this statement by the person holding the second highest office of state in Portugal.Given that there should be a clear synchronization of Community views on this issue in order to tackle the scourge of drug addiction and combat its spread, which causes serious damage to society as such and the individual in particular, can the Commission say whether, in accordance with Community provisions on the subject, the statements by the above Portuguese dignitary may be considered to be in line with these provisions or contrary to the spirit of social protection consistently upheld by the Community philosophy?Answer given by Mr Santer on behalf of the Commission (19 July 1996)The Commission is not aware of the statements which the Honourable Member attributes to the President of the Portuguese Parliament.It should be borne in mind that the Treaty on European Union leaves the question of legalisation of drugs to the exclusive responsibility of Member States. The Commission shares the view of the Honourable Member that global and integrated action at Commuinity level is of primary importance to tackle the scourge of drugs.Moreover, the Commission adopted in June 1994 a communication, on an action plan to combat drugs covering the period of 1995 to 1999. This was welcomed by the Parliament and endorsed by the European Council in Cannes in June 1995. Improved cooperation and coordination between all authorities constitute an important part of this action plan.To implement this plan, the Commission jointly organised with the Parliament and the Spanish Presidency a conference on drugs policy in Europe which took place in Brussels on 7-8 December 1995. This conference was particularly aimed at identifying the common elements in the Member States' drugs policies including legislation. It initiated a reflection on the comparison of legislation and its implementation in practice.The reflection on the judicial implementation of national drugs legislation was pursued in the framework of a follow-up seminar jointly organised by the Commission, the Parliament and the Italian Presidency on 25-26 March 1996. As was confirmed at the European Council in Florence, the results of this seminar bring together the necessary material to allow for the completion of the study requested by the Madrid European Council on the extent to which possible harmonisation of Member States'legislation could contribute to a reduction in the consumption of drugs and unlawful trafficking in them.