REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN MONITORING CETRE FOR DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION (1994-96) - Commission Report to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union and for information to the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions in accordance with Article 18 of Council Regulation (EEC) 302/93 of 8 February 1993
Date: 1997-04-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, cooperation policy, dissemination of information, drug addiction, information network, narcotic

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

i* 

* 

Brussels,  11.04.1997 
COM(97)  146 final 

REPORT 

ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EUROPEAN MONITORING CENTRE 

FOR DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION (1994-96) 

Commission Report to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union 

and for information  to the 

Economic and Social Committee 
and the 
Committee of the Regions 

in accordance with Article  18 of 
Council Regulation (EEC) 302/93 of 8 February 1993 

Contents 

A.  Introduction 

B.  Grounds for action in Council Regulation (EEC) 302/93 

C.  I nventory and analysis of the Centre's activities in the first three years 

D.  Evaluation of the Centre's activities in the first three years 

E.  Closing remarks 

3 

5 

6 

10 

15 

A. INTRODUCTION 

The dynamic approach of the Regulation setting up the Monitoring Centre 

1. 
Article  18 of the basic regulation establishing the European Monitoring Centre for 
Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) requires the Commission to report to Parliament 
and the Council on the activities of the Monitoring Centre after three years of operation, 
together with proposals, if appropriate, to modify  or extend its tasks taking into account, 
the evolution of Community powers.  The Commission considers that this report's review 
of the Centre's activities should be the starting point for plans to meet the European 
Union's medium- and long-term needs.  The regulation's strategy of responding to 
changing needs reflects the general pattern followed  by the joint strategy against drugs 
from the outset. 

2. 
The EMCDDA Regulation was adopted when the Community held only a sectoral 
and peripheral remit in respect of drugs. The nature and scope of subsequent  amendments 
to the Treaties and the scale of the action developed on this basis serve to heighten the 
importance of the Commission's report to Parliament and the Council at a time when the 
drug phenomenon in Europe is growing ever more serious.  This is why the achievement 
of the overall objectives of the Union's  1995-99 Action Plan should be related to the 
content of this report, with its focus on the operational goals to be set for the Monitoring 
Centre in the period following  1996-97. 

EMCDDA:  a new instrument in the European drugs war 

Between the mid '80s and early '90s, the European Economic Community and the 

3 
Member States focused  increasing attention on the prospects of more coordinated 
anti-drugs action, which became mandatory with the Treaty on European Union.  The 
new institutional and operational framework  in effect  since  1  November  1993 has 
fundamentally  changed the previous situation.  The anti-drugs campaign is one of the 
public health goals specified  in the EC Treaty and is included among the objectives set by 
the Union Treaty for cooperation in justice and home affairs.  That Treaty also makes 
provision for defining and implementing a common foreign  and security policy covering all 
those areas, including drug dependence.  The new framework  provides a foundation  for 
the multisectoral and multidisciplinary approach of the European Union  1995-99 plan 
approved by the Cannes European Council in June  1995.  When the programme was 
approved  the Council called for its guidelines to be translated into specific measures with 
the result that as time goes by the Monitoring Centre is embarking stage by stage on its 
appointed tasks.  In December  1995, the Madrid European Council spelled out the ground 
rules for implementing detailed measures in many of the areas of the programme involving 
the Community, the Union and the Monitoring Centre.  In December  1996 a detailed 
programme setting out the action programme for the Centre, reviewing European Union 

activities in 1996 and assessing the principal medium-term developments was presented to 
the Dublin European Council.  In the list of priority measures established for  1997, the 
Heads of State or Government confirmed their wish to see the European Union develop 
as an area of freedom, security and justice by making full, coherent use of Union 
instruments. 

Adaptable programming as a working method 

The need to establish precise objectives and the means to implement them within 

4. 
the time limits are crucial to the operation of the Monitoring Centre.  It should adopt a 
gradual approach, its activities leading from one to another as it attains the priority 
objectives laid down for its operation.1  Over the past three years of work, the basic 
regulation has given priority to the first specific area:  demand and demand reduction. 

According to Regulation (EEC) No 302/93, the tools made available for the 

5. 
programme are determined for both the Member States and the Centre.  In this case the 
key tool is Reitox, the European Information  Network on Drugs and Drug Addiction. 
The specialist national centres likely to make a useful  contribution to the work of the 
Monitoring Centre should be identified  and designated each time a multiannual 
programme is decided.  The same applies to contractual relationships with specialist 
centres, and resources are allocated accordingly. 

New horizons:  1998-2000 - the Centre's next working period 

6. 
Having focused  for the last three years on the question of demand and demand 
reduction and on policies and strategies, as required by the Regulation, the Centre can 
propose to extend its fields of activity for the next three-year programme (1998-2000) to 
other established priority areas.  Needless to say, if the Centre is authorized to take up a 
fresh challenge, it will have to strike a balance between the new effort  and the action taken 
in the first period so that earlier results and those still awaited can be fully exploited 
without delay. 

The criteria governing choices regarding the expansion of the Centre should 

7. 
include the strict budget constraints which will continue to have an impact on all 
Community finances, including those of the Centre.  In the light of these  financial 
constraints, funding for the Centre will continue to be limited.  Consequently, its 
operations will have to be exapaned in a balanced manner, keeping the focus on priority 
areas. 

According  to the  basic  Regulation  the  priority  areas  to  be  covered  by  the  Monitoring  Centre  are:  1.  demand  and  demand 
reduction;  2.  national  and  Community  strategies  (with  special  emphasis  on  international,  bilateral  and  Community  policies, 
action  plans,  legislation,  activities  and  agreements);  3. international  cooperation  and  geopolitics  of  supply  (with  special 
emphasis on cooperation programmes and information  on producer and transit countries);  4. control  of trade in narcotic  drugs, 
psychotropic  substances  and  precursors,  as  provided  for  in  the  relevant  present  or  future  international  conventions  and 
Community  acts;  5.  implications  of the drugs phenomenon for producer,  consumer and transit countries, within areas  covered 
by the Treaty, including money laundering, as laid down by the relevant present or future Community acts. 

B. GROUNDS FOR ACTION IN COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) 302/93 

Like the other nine Community agencies, the Monitoring Centre is a body 
1. 
governed by European public law with its own legal personality.  No provision is made for 
it in the Treaties and it was established by secondary Community legislation to perform a 
task specified  in its constitutive act.2 

Basic objective 

The Centre's objective is to supply the Community and its Member States with 

2. 
objective, reliable and comparable data at European level on drugs and drug addiction and 
their consequences, and to give them an overview of the drugs scene when they come to 
take measures or define courses of action both in their respective areas of competence and 
at the level of the European Union. 

Key links in the Centre's activities 

The Centre's first assignment was to collect and analyse available data  from 

3. 
different  sources, while facilitating exchanges of information  between those involved in 
combating drugs. The Centre's next task was to improve the methodology for the 
comparison  of data, especially by formulating indicators and non binding common 
criteria, which it could recommend as means of achieving greater uniformity  of the 
measurement techniques used by the Member States and the Community.  The third task 
is to draw up and present an annual report containing its findings on the drug situation 
for the Community and the Member States.  Fourthly, the Centre is required to cooperate 
with European and international bodies and organizations and with non-Community 
countries, thereby helping to improve coordination between national and Community 
action in its areas of activities. 

The Centre's main tool is Reitox, the European Information Network on Drugs 

4. 
and Drug Addiction.  It is a system for collecting and exchanging information and 
documentation concerning drugs, drawing in particular on a human network and its own 
computer system. 

There is a wide range of reasons for creating the various agencies.  There are specific reasons which respond to a number of 
general  concerns:  the wish to decentralize certain Community activities, to increase the visibility of the tasks assigned to them 
by clearly  identifying the bodies with their mission, and to respond to the need to develop expertise in certain scientific  or 
technical areas. 

C. INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS OF THE CENTRE'S ACTIVITIES IN THE 

FIRST THREE YEARS 

Establishment of the Monitoring Centre 

After  1994, the transitional year when the first components of the structure were 

1. 
put in place (Director, Management Board, etc.),  1995 was a trial year, devoted to 
initiating the tasks entrusted to the Centre.  Its constituent parts were put in place 
(physical infrastructure,  human resources)  The tasks and machinery for the Centre were 
identified,  and launched in November after  adoption of the  1995-96 operational 
programme.3 

Administrative arrangements4 

The Management Board and the Scientific Committee5 were set up to control the 
2. 
Centre's operation.  The Management Board is responsible for decision-making, and the 
Committee has an advisory role, delivers opinions and makes recommendations to it.  One 
of the Board's main tasks in  1994-96 was to adopt the Centre's programmes (the first 
three-year work programme for  1995-97, and the annual work programmes for  1995 and 
1996 as subsets of it, the annual budgets, and the annual general activities report.  The 
Scientific  Committee was required to deliver its opinion on scientific matters concerning 
the content of the work programmes. 

The following took place in the period under review: 
a. 

Installation in Lisbon.  The Lisbon offices were inaugurated on 26 September  1995 in the presence among others of 
Mr Vitorino, Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs, and Ms Gradin, 
Member of the European Commission. 
The team:  It took some time to form the team.  The Director was elected for a live year term by the Management Board 
in July  1994 and took office  in mid- January 1995. 
Staff:  At the beginning of 1995 the staff complement numbered  14, and by the end of the year there were 17 staff 
members.  Following the accession of three new Member States, 21 established posts were entered in the budget. At the 
end of 1996, the Centre had some 30 staff of all categories taken together. Details of entry into service: 

b. 

c. 

15.1.1995:  Director + 1 A-grade 
February  1995:  Management Board approved  14 posts 
1.3.1995:  5 posts filled (interinstitutional, therefore rapid, recruitment; administrative posts) 
June 1995: 7 additional posts approved by the Management Board (interinstitutional recruitment, early  1996) 
fourth quarter  1995: scientists arrive (after publication in the OJ + selection -  minimum 6 months) 
end 1996:  30 posts approved by the Management Board and filled. 

Despite the differences  in size and tasks the Community decentralized bodies have a basic structure corresponding in genera! to 
the following outline: 

Management Board composed of representatives of the Member States and the Commission, and sometimes, of 
persons appointed by Parliament; 
un executive director who is the body's legal representative, 
a scientific committee composed of highly qualified  experts in the field in question; 
internal audit is the responsibility of the Commission Financial Controller or a Controller appointed by the 

Commission; 

external audit is in the hands of the Court of Auditors of the European Communities. 

An additional body was set up in accordance with the internal rules of the Centre: the Steering Committee.  It consists of the 
Chairman of the Management Board, the Deputy Chairman and a representative of the Commission.  It takes routine decisions 
between meetings of the Management  Board and prepares the ground for its discussions.  This body started to function  on a 
regular basis in 1996.  At the same time the Centre's Advisory Committee on Procurement and Contracts ( ACPC) was set up 
Its composition is identical to thai of the Steering Committee plus the head of the Centre's Administration Department 

Finance 

The budget for the first full year (1995) amounted to ECU 5 350 000, which 
3. 
covered basic setting-up and fitting-out  operations and launching the operational 
activities.6  The budget for  1996 stood at ECU 6 008 000,7 including a special Community 
subsidy of ECU  168 000 for the pilot study on petty crime associated with drug abuse.  In 
1997, revenue and expenditure will not rise quite so much.8  In addition, given the 
budgetary constraints on the Community's finances, and therefore on the Centre's, there 
can be no question of a substantial increase in the Centre's budget for  1997-98. 

First three-year programme  1995-97 

Priority topics 

1. 
In view of the priority given to demand and demand reduction, the first three-year 
programme (1995-97), the annual programmes for  1995 and  1996 and the  1995-96 
operational programme were devoted to this topic.  Special attention was directed to the 
epidemiological  study of the incidence, extent and trends of the drug problem and 
analysis of the instruments for reducing demand. 

Priority tasks 

2. 
The priority tasks stemming from the  1995 work programme concerned (a)  identification 
of the key indicators and essential data;  (b)  identification  of procedures which would 
ensure the quality of the analyses;  (c) establishment of cooperation with relevant 
international institutions and bodies, and (d) establishment of cooperation with the main 
groups and research centres concerned. 

The  1996 work programme followed  up and developed the  1995 programme, giving more 
emphasis to particular areas of work:  (a)  scope for demand reduction;  (b)  clarification 
of the main differences  between information  concerning demand reduction and 
epidemiology;  (c)  organization and consolidation of Reitox around the objective of 
data-collection;  (d)  establishment of the structure of the first annual report on the 
drugs phenomenon in Europe (1995). 

In the first budgetary year, the Centre devoted slightly less than  two-thirds of its resources to operational expenditure, about 
20° o to staff expenditure and the rest to operating costs. 
The Centre spent about 43% of its budget on operating expenditure, a little under 40% on staff expenditure and the rest on other 
operating costs.  However, if expenditure on scientific staff is regarded as operational expenditure in practice, distinguishing ii 
from  administrative staff'expenditure, the percentage allocated to operational expenditure stands at about 60%.  A small 
contingency reserve of about 0.30% was entered in the budget.  About two-thirds of the staff are scientific and technical, that is 
directly operational (coordination and organization of REITOX programme and directly of the Centre). 
The 1997 budget stands at ECU 6.3 million.  Of this amount ECU1.3million have been enteral in the reserve by the budgetary 
authority.  The structure of the expenditure shows the clear separation and relationship between administrative expenditure 
(ECU  1  387 000, i.e. 22%) and operational expenditure(ECU 4 912 000, i.e. 78%). 

The  1995-96 operational programme sought to implement the first two annual 
programmes, by focusing on the two main material aspects of the annual programme.9 

3.  Operations carried out 
Since the Centre did not become operational until the end of 1995, it was not possible to 
embark on the  1995-96 operating programme approved by the Management Board in 
November  1995 until the beginning of 1996.  The Centre's activities carried out up to the 
end of 1996 can be summed up as follows: 

(i) 

(ii) 

Epidemiology 
The aim was to (a) develop the framework  set up in  1995;  (b)  initiate  specific 
activities;  (c)  obtain an overview of drug consumption in the Union.10 

Demand reduction 
Preparatory work was done for a data base on demand reduction activities and for 
a study of their scientific evaluation.  Consultants' advice was frequently sought. 
Meetings and workshops were held to work out the proposed information  system. 

(iii)  Other areas 

A project  relating to a pilot study on petty urban delinquency associated with 
drug consumption in Europe was fully financed by resources from the justice and 
home affairs  budget heading (B5-800). 

(iv)  Reitox 

Work focused  on setting up and consolidating the first bases of the Focal Points 
network11 - the  15 Member States, the Commission and the Centre (15+1+1). 
Reitox is composed of 15 national information  centres (Focal Points) and the 
Commission Focal Point.  The Lisbon Centre has begun coordinating the action of 
the Focal Points in conjunction with the Member States' authorities and with the 
Coordination of the Fight against Drugs Unit in the Commission's  Secretariat-
General.  Reitox was launched at the first meeting of the heads of Focal Points in 
Lisbon on  18-19 May 1995. 

Firstly, the REITOX programme (Programme I);  secondly, the Centre's direct coordination activities (Programme II):  studies, 
consultants work, organization of scientific meetings and the dissemination, publication, and documentation activities in support 
of these measures, with a view to improving the relevance, quality and comparability of existing data. 
(a) 

In developing the framework in 1995, the Centre took action on all the aspects provided for in the  1996 programme. 
The assistance of consultants and the national Focal Points of the Reitox network were frequently  called on. 
The specific activities carried out mainly entailed the analysis of available data, the preparation of proposals and pilot 
projects to improve data collection methods for the different types of drugs consumed.  Assistance and advice was 
frequently  obtained from consultants and the Reitox Focal Points. Seminars were organised. 
The attempt to obtain a comprehensive picture of drug consumption in the Union was based on information collected 
from the Focal Points and other European bodies.  It provided the basis for the epidemiological section of the first annual 
report-  1995. 

(b) 

(c) 

In the first stage a contract was concluded with a firm to carry out the following activities:  (a)  organization, management ant, 
coordination relating to implementation of Programme I of the  1995-96 operational programme;  (b)  logistics and technological 
support for Programme I of the  1995-96 operational programme;  (c)  preparation of a communication link between the Centre, 
the Commission, the Focal Points and other partners;  (d)  maintaining technical liaison with the IDA unit in DG III and the 
Focal Point Commission in the Secretariat-General;  (e)  support for preparation of the IDA-Reitox dossier in the framework of 
Commission financial assistance to the Centre for the IDA programme.  In the second stage, now under way, another contract 
has been signed with an information technology consultant to evaluate the suitability of the tool for fully completing the tasks 
assigned to Reitox, and to set up the network based on the TESTA/ IDA infrastructure. 

In  1995-96 Reitox was installed with the following data:  (a)  detailed description 
of the drugs information  structure supplied by the national Focal Point in each 
Member State;  (b)  detailed, standardized and systematic inventory of the 
Information Maps drawn up by the  15 Focal Points;  (c)  call for proposals from 
the Focal Points to implement the data collection methods of Reitox;  (d) 
analytical inventory of European Union action in drugs prevention in 1995 
supplied by the Commission Focal Point as the Commission contribution to the 
first annual report on the drugs phenomenon in Europe. 

The technical work on the network's technology revealed that it was both possible 
and indeed necessary to consolidate a human network as a basis for advancing the 
Centre's work.  This made it possible to define the role of the national Focal 
Points. The Focal Points were then coordinated by Reitox in Lisbon at the end of 
1996. 

(v) 

Documentation 

The Centre carried out many measures to develop its own documentation system. 
The action mainly involved the design and organization of the Centre's archives, 
setting up a computerized documentation unit and preparing a list of the current 
drugs and drug abuse legislation in the Member States. Many consultants were 
involved in implementing specific actions to complete this task. 

(vi)  Dissemination of data and publications12 

The Centre has published:  (a)  a general report on the Centre's activities in 1995; 
(b)  a bi-monthly newsletter, Drugnet Europe, available in English, French, 
German and Portuguese (first issue:  September /October  1996);  (c) the  first 
annual report on the drugs phenomenon in Europe - 1995. 

First report on the drugs phenomenon in Europe - 1995 

The first annual report was published in October  1996.  Given that these annual 

4. 
reports are central to the Centre's work, this record of its achievements in 1994-96 should 
be regarded as a barometer of the success of the Centre and as a key to its future 
activities.  The possibilities are assessed in the following  chapter. 

Iktween  1995 and  1996 the Centre completed 29 studies (to which another 29 will be added in 1997) on a wide range of subjects: 
structures, organization, flows, information  systems,.documentation, archives, methods of analysis, scientific evaluations, 
approaches contributing to the annual reports,  demand reduction instruments and activities, dynamics and prevalence of 
consumption, communication and prevention techniques, international cooperative modules. 

D. EVALUATION  OF THE CENTRE'S ACTIVITIES IN THE FIRST THREE 

YEARS 

Management of the Centre 

The Centre has certainly had to overcome some difficult  obstacles.  Apart from 

1. 
the intrinsic complexity of its mission, there was considerable delay in making the 
requisite resources available.  The differences in the Reitox contributions and in the 
Member States' perception of the Centre's role did not make the task any easier. 
Nevertheless, the Centre made some headway towards its goals and achieved some 
results, many only partial;  it has undertaken to complete them before the end of 1997. 
(a) 

effectiveness  of decision-making procedures (Management Board and 
Bureau) 

As the Centre's work progressed and expanded, decision-making procedures relating to 
the substance of the Centre's activities were gradually refined.  With more  effective 
interaction between the preparatory body (the Bureau) and the decision-making body 
(Management Board), the hoped-for  incisiveness of the system became more convincing 
early in January  1997, when decisions regarding the  1997 budget and work programme 
and the preparatory work for the new  1998-2000 work programme were all adopted with 
transparency and rigour as regards the issues at stake, the clarification  of priorities and 
the suitability of instruments. 

value added by the Scientific  Committee 

(b) 
The Committee was consulted on the key aspects of the draft  three-year and annual 
programmes, but its contributions were barely perceptible.  In general, this body's great 
potential for targeting and developing action should have been mobilized to a greater 
extent.  By drawing on the capabilities available in Commission departments, especially in 
the areas of R&D and public health, the Committee could bring scientific rigour to the 
discussions and exercise some control over the activities, thus reducing duplication, 
increasing reliability, and consequently improving results, not to mention the credibility of 
the Centre as a whole. 

efficient  organization 

(c) 
By the end of 1996 the Centre's staff complement was fully up and running.  The recent 
installation of two key elements has to be appreciated.  First, the coordination function  of 
Reitox provides a focal point for the work:  mobilization of the system and the effect  it is 
expected to have on the structure of the national Focal Points should help to generate 
greater fluidity  in the organization as a whole.  Next, since the financial department has 
been organized and consolidated, it can be associated with the preparation and  follow-up 
of planned activities and constitute the backbone of the internal organization.  Now that it 
is operational, it can help to promote transparency and coordination in the interface 
with the Commission as regards the budgetary procedure and its contribution to the 
Management Board, liaison with the Commission's Coordination of the Fight against 
Drugs Unit, and management of the Commission-Reitox Focal Point. 

10 

Interface  with  the Centre's  partners 

The success of the Centre depends on effective  relations with its partners:  the 

2 
European institutions (in particular the Commission) the Member States and other 
subnational and international bodies and organizations. 

Reitox  network 

(a) 
The stimulus and coordination provided by the Reitox network which the Centre was 
required tc  organize have become increasingly beneficial as the initial weaknesses have 
been gradually overcome. 

The Centre outlined the priorities  and working methods for the  friture  With the 
support of the Centre, Reitox promoted the formulation and use of common instruments 
for data collection, storage and exchange.  The operation of Reitox has prompted Member 
States to think about national data collection methods, setting up centres and improving 
data networks. 

The Focal Points revealed a growing need for information  flows within the network, 
especially from the Centre to the Focal Points, including the Commission Focal Point. The 
main reason for this need was that until the end of Î996 there was no fixed contact  point 
in the structure of the Centre responsible for coordinating Reitox.  In addition, the 
structure  of the network (human and computerized) and nature of the national Focal 
Points' tasks in relation to the central point were not clarified until the beginning of 1997. 
Only today has the Centre finally defined  with sufficient  rigour the criteria for 
designating the national Focal Points forming the network.  There was some uncertainty 
due to the delay in implementing the basic regulation, and this was corroborated by 
subsequent discussions in the Management Board early in 1997.  A solution to their start 
up difficulties  was brought within reach at the Focal Points meeting in September  Î996. 
The meeting laid the bases for common key criteria for the definition  of a national Focal 
Point.  Its function  is twofold:  to collect and disseminate information  (quality, synthesis, 
development) to the Centre and the other Focal Points and to be responsible for  projects 
aimed at improving and developing information  (multidisciplinary, promotion of high 
standards, subsidiarity). 

The main outstanding item is to consolidate the Member States' commitment  (including 
financial  commitment) to the Focal Point, and to make the Commission Focal Point  fully 
operational.  In December  1996 the latter inaugurated its functional  and computerized 
structure, which is designed to make the information collected available to the Centre. 

11 

European  Institutions 

b. 
Like the Europol Drugs Unit, the Monitoring Centre was actively associated with the 
Group of Experts on Drugs which produced reports presented in turn by the Council and 
the Commission to the Madrid European Council and the Dublin II European Council. 
The contributions to the detailed programme presented at the Dublin II summit confirmed 
the value of the dual approach involving the reduction of both demand and supply in joint 
action by the Commission and the Member States. 

For their part, the European institutions sent the Monitoring Centre proposals for action 
on specific topics (petty urban delinquency associated with drug abuse, quantities of drugs 
fixed  by Member States to distinguish personal use from trafficking,  alternatives to prison 
in the event of conviction, trends in national anti-drugs policies, R&D on the drugs 
phenomenon, etc,).  Since most of these proposals were in addition to its work 
programme, the Centre had to make a choice.  It adopted a balanced approach in general 
and although it showed it was responsive to these issues, in the interests of consistency it 
concentrated its financial and human resources on the gradual completion of its work 
programme. 

International  organizations 

c. 
The Centre concentrated its efforts  on establishing contact with the Council of Europe's 
Pompidou Group, mainly in the field of epidemiology.  Relations with the 
United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP) were established with 
the appointment of a liaison officer  in 1996.  Initial contacts have been made with the 
Europol Drugs Unit, whilst the relations established with the World Health Organization, 
the World Customs Organization and Interpol led these bodies to participate in the  first 
report on the drugs phenomenon in  1995.  Since the reference period was essentially 
devoted to the launching of operations, it seemed wise to adopt a gradual approach in this 
area, even though epidemiology and demand reduction in particular are undoubtedly 
promising areas to investigate in the fight against drugs. 

Strengths and weaknesses of the first annual report on the drugs phenomenon in 
Europe-1995 

3.  The  1995 report13 is the first stage in an unprecedented effort  to lay the foundations 
for a comprehensive view of the extremely complex and stratified  picture of the drugs 
phenomenon in Europe.  Only the progress made throughout the  1996 programme, and 
especially the progress expected in 1997, makes it possible to produce the overall view 
required by the European Union.  The Centre naturally had first to collect existing data 
before it could be improved and valid comparisons made.  The data was collected in the 
first  three years and work  started on improving it with a view to comparison and 
harmonization.  In the next period, it should become possible to draw comparisons  from 
whatever date is actually comparable.  Although much of the data is only partial, the  1995 
report reveals the key aspects of the demand phenomenon and offers  an insight into the 
main demand reduction activities.  A study of the report reveals certain lacunae:  the 

Two earlier reports were drawn up by Commission departments in 1990 and 1994 on the situation with respect to drugs demand 
in the then twelve Member States of the European (Economic) Community. 

12 

central message is that there is a crying need to organize existing sources of information 
on a systematic basis and for specialist centres to process the information. 

(i) 

Functions 

a. Data collection and analysis 
Based on the essential tools (surveys, studies, pilot projects, etc.) the report is the 
direct product of the Centre's work in this key task. This is particularly true in the 
case of the first data collated on demand and demand reduction.  The data 
collected on information  sources and their structures were also the direct product 
of this basic task. 

Improved comparison methods 

b. 
The report is less successful  in this area.  The main causes are the great variations, 
the multiple factors of diversity affecting  most of the categories of data processed, 
and the great difference  in the quality of the instruments in operation in the 
Member States.  There remains a vast unexplored territory in this area, but the task 
has been precisely delineated and the report considers ways of achieving the 
objective. 

Dissemination 

c. 
Dissemination of information is the other vital function of the report.  Not only did 
the report appear late in the year following the reference year, but the delay in its 
appearance in the eleven official  Community languages has been regrettable:  only 
the English version was available at the end of 1996.  Immediate steps should be 
taken to ensure cooperation at all levels between the Monitoring Centre and the 
European Union Translation Centre. 

(ii) 

Chapters 

d. Demand and demand redaction 

The report devotes a relatively short chapter to this question although it is a 
priority area.  The general inexperience of the Reitox Focal Points and initial 
shortage of clear concepts are probably the main impediments to be overcome 
before the requisite information  is available.  However, the basis for systematic 
understanding of drug demand has been laid.  The requisite epidemiological data 
and specifications have been collected so that the basic information  can be made 
available at Union level.  The inclusion of less traditional indicators such as 
purity/price ratios and seizures is a positive step.  Although the data collected is 
not always complete, the tool promises to tackle the question on a comprehensive 
basis. A key message stands out from the chapter.  Prevention is a top priority in 
the comprehensive approach to drug prevention, both for national policies and for 
international strategies to combat drug abuse.  Pursuit of the objectives at each 
stage of the prevention process promises to help develop the relevant skills, 
facilitate cooperation between the actors involved and promote coordination of 

13 

initiatives.  The key to success is the availability of harmonized data at 
European level. 

Anti-drug strategies 

e. 
The chapter is proportionally weightier than the chapter on demand and demand 
reduction.  By plunging into this second area of activity, the Centre has produced a 
detailed survey of the strategies of the Member States and of the European Union. 
It combines many aspects of an overview and offers  decision-makers a frame of 
reference.  It anticipates the Centre's second work priority and adds to its value. It 
emerges that the concept of demand reduction is used in Europe (and the world) 
to cover a range of prevention, treatment and rehabilitation measures combined in 
various ways at different  times and in different  places.  In the European Union, the 
Member States are agreed that the strategies for demand reduction are the joint 
responsibility of local communities, official  and unofficial  services and a variety of 
professions and occupations.  The action is predominantly decentralized.  Drug 
prevention is a universally recognized priority, but its impact is difficult  to 
measure. 

f.  Information  sources 
The crucial challenge was to ensure the accountability, reliability and comparability 
of information to provide the basis on which the Member States and Union 
institutions could make informed  strategic and political choices.  Outside the 
epidemiology contest, where the quality of the data is generally adequate, the 
diversity and irregularity of the information  is one of the main obstacles. The choice 
of common definitions  and classifications, together with better transmission 
systems, are as vital as ever!  The long-term aim will be international consistency. 

g. Information  structures 
The Reitox network is not yet performing its function  to the full.  In  1997 the 
system is expected to produce transparent common bases and unified views so 
that the Focal Points can act as links in an efficient  interlocking network providing 
the impetus for structures, collection and  flows.  The network of documentation 
centres supporting Reitox should be developed,  progress should be mapped out 
for their field of action and interconnections. 

The Monitoring Centre's publishing activities 

4 
There were certain weaknesses in the implementation of the  1995-96 operational 
programme.14  Whatever the reasons for the absence of publications, scientific works for 
the general public and their promotion played and will play a big part in enhancing the 
European citizens' perception of the Centre.  Great care should be taken to ensure 
publishing is covered in budgetary terms. 

Provision was made to produce the bi-monthly newsletter in the eleven official  Community languages, but it appears in only four. 
The publications specially intended for professionals and the scientific studies provided for in the  1995-96 operational programme 
will be produced in 1997.  As for the publications for the Focal Points and the specialist bodies also provided for in the  1995-96 
operational programme, only the annual epidemiological report will be produced later.  The delays were due to the late adoption of 
programmes, the bottleneck in translation and quality requirements: 

14 

E 

1. 

CLOSING REMARKS 

Key aspects of the service expected of the Centre 

a.  Functional priorities 

The first annual report (1995) is the first step in the right direction.  To obtain 
adequate data on the drug phenomenon in the Union, top priority should be given 
to the following three areas of work:  (a)  completing and managing a database on 
demand reduction activities in cooperation with the Reitox Focal Points; 
(b) establishing the linguistic equivalents for demand and demand reduction; 
(c) progress in assessing the evaluation methods of drug prevention projects. 
The Centre must rapidly develop its planning capacity and its ability to stick 
closely to the programme adopted. 

b.  Systemic priorities 

The basic regulation does not precisely define the Focal Points of the Reitox 
network.  The Centre, together with the Commission among others, should work 
towards determining the precise rights and duties of the national Focal Points, in 
terms of both organization and budget.  Reitox is the key tool which the Centre 
must develop to carry out its tasks.  The main requirement is for the Member 
States to improve the quantity and quality of the operation of each of the Focal 
Points, which will have to play a permanent and structural role in the network. 
The Commission will consolidate and develop the Commission Focal Point to 
ensure that it slots neatly into the 15 +  1  +  1  network and contributes to the results 
expected of it. 

c.  Visibility:  a vital condition 

Publication of annual reports on the drug phenomenon is the keystone of 
dissemination activity.  Priority should be given to three main points:  readability 
of the document, simultaneous availability in the 11 official  Community 
languages, and publication early in the year following the reference year.  The 
Centre should take action without delay. This is crucial to the citizen's perception 
of the Centre. Publications should take a neutral tone to ensure that the European 
public finds acceptable any measures the Union might propose on the basis of the 
objective, reliable and comparable data these publications are supposed to contain. 
Transparency  should be the aim of all the Centre's activities, especially with 
respect to the numerous studies under way, with a view to promoting the 
development of appropriate synergies with on-going action in the Commission. 

Action to promote visibility should include data produced by the Centre's partners 
in the light of the Union's priorities:  selective dissemination of this data and of 

15 

data concerning tasks 3, 4 and 5 of the Centre's work might be valuable, 
depending on the specific projects to which the Union decides to devote the 
Centre's potential. 

d.  Targeting European Union priorities 

The Community must work to attain rapid synergy in a number of areas reflecting 
Union priorities.  In general a dual approach should be adopted to the issues of 
reduction of drug demand and of supply, for example by pursuing the work on 
cross-referencing  medical-social and criminal data started by the Centre.  More 
specifically,  priority should be given to achieving the best possible coordination 
between the Centre's work and the following main Community measures: 
(a) implementing the new Community action programme on the prevention of 
drug dependence (1996-2000);15  (b)  continuing the PHARE/drugs programme 
promoting economic integration with central and eastern European countries and 
the TACIS programme for the new independent states, both programmes being 
coordinated by the Commission;  (c)  implementing the Community's fourth  RTD 
framework programme (1994-98) and preparation of the fifth  programme; 
(d) implementing the TESTA/IDA  systems for electronic data interchange 
between administrations.  In particular, the inclusion in the Reitox network of 
central European countries and Cyprus should be considered as soon as possible. 
The question of new synthetic drugs, which will be targeted once the European 
Union strategy in this area is finalized, will require full cooperation from the 
Centre. 

At international level,16 marked progress in these areas will accompany 
developments in the Centre's relations with the UNDCP and with the Council of 
Europe's Pompidou Group. Where necessary, it might be useful  to initiate 
contacts with regional bodies outside the European Union, such as the 
Inter-American Drug Abuse Control Commission (IDAC).  Attention should be 
given to cooperation with Europol. 

2.  Conclusions 

a.  Relevance of the tasks assigned to the Monitoring Centre 

In the light of the evaluation of the Centre's work from 1994 to  1996 on the basis 
of Council Regulation (EEC) 302/93, having regard to the changes in the Treaties 
and the development  of European Union action, the Commission considers there is 
no need to adapt or extend the tasks of this decentralized Community body.  The 
Centre should develop its actitivies in priority areas in the light of current and 
foreseeable Union budgetary constraints. 

ITie work  programme was adopted on  16  December  1996 and launched on 30 January  1997.. 
The following dates should be noted in particular,  the special session of the United Nations General  Assembly on drugs in June 
1998, and the pan-European ministerial meeting planned by the Council of Europe's Pompidou Group in May  1997. 

16 

b.  Continuing importance of priority  1 - Demand and demand reduction, and 
the rising importance of priority 2 - National and Community strategies 
and policies 

Given its positive assessment of the Centre's work overall in the first three years of 
activity, the Commission stresses that it is important for Parliament and the 
Council to ensure that the Centre's tasks are kept out of the political arena, which 
should continue to be reserved for the Union's institutions. 

c.  Increased coordination with the Union's institutions and bodies 

The Commission plans to pursue this goal by working towards closer cooperation 
between the Centre's activities and the activities of its own departments, not 
forgetting to develop cooperation between the Centre and the Statistical Office  of 
the European Communities within the framework  of the current  statistics 
programme.  The European Union's  1995-99 action programme on drugs will 
require such direct cooperation, given the priorities emerging for the remaining 
period of its implementation. 

17 

ISSN 0254-1475 

COM(97) 146  final 

DOCUMENTS 

EN 

05  16  06  01 

Catalogue number  : CB-CO-97-138-EN-C 

ISBN 92-78-18055-6 

Office  for Official  Publications of the European Communities 

L-2985 Luxembourg 

if