WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2474/96 by Anneli HULTHÉN to the Commission. Drug smuggling
Date: 1996-09-23
Institutions: European Parliament, HULTHEN
Subjects: Poland, Sweden, competence of the Member States, customs cooperation, customs inspection, drug traffic, external border of the EU, fight against crime, illicit trade, technical cooperation













EUR-Lex - 91996E2474 - EN






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91996E2474

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2474/96 by Anneli HULTHÉN to the Commission. Drug smuggling  


Official Journal C 060 , 26/02/1997 P. 0148 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2474/96 by Susan Waddington (PSE) to the Commission (23 September 1996)Subject: Drug smugglingAhead of Sweden's membership of the EU, Swedes were apprehensive that our previously strict border controls would be done away with. In particular, it was feared that there would be an increase in drug smuggling. The Swedish police are now saying that they have noticed an increase in the supply of drugs from eastern Europe, particularly Poland.It is a serious matter if the Community's customs authorities have failed to prevent drug trafficking. What measures is the Commission taking to reduce the influx of drugs from Poland and elsewhere and is the Commission satisfied that the external border controls are effective?Answer given by Mr Monti on behalf of the Commission (22 October 1996)Combating unlawful drug-trafficking is a matter which falls within the third pillar of the Treaty on European Union and is the responsibility of the Member States' enforcement services. Therefore, although it is understood that there has been a recent increase in the smuggling of drugs through the external frontier of the Community from Eastern Europe, the Commission has no actual statistical evidence to support the statements made by the Swedish police.For its own part and within the limits of its competence, the Commission is active in assisting the customs services of the Member States in controlling the external frontier, in any way that it can. In particular, it administers the Matthaeus programme, which provides training for Community customs officials through seminars, exchanges of officials and the development of common training programmes. It has also agreed to manage the customs information system under the terms of the 1995 Convention on the use of information technology for customs purposes ((OJ C 316, 27.11.1995. )), once that Convention comes into force. With regard to mutual assistance between customs administrations, the Commission is in the process of revising Community legislation and parallel work is in progress in the Council on an updating of the 1967 Naples Convention. All these measures are designed to help strengthen controls at the external frontier.With regard to Poland, in particular, there has been assistance under the Phare programme including technical assistance to draft adequate legislation on drugs issues and the supply of detection equipment. There is also an association agreement between the Communities and their Member States on the one part and Poland on the other ((OJ L 348, 31.12.1993. )) which inter alia, in the main Articles and in Protocol No 6 (which is supported by a joint declaration (No 15)), includes measures on co-operation in customs and drugs matters in the field of policies and measures to counter the supply and illicit traffic of drugs.