WRITTEN QUESTION E-1983/99 by Cristiana Muscardini (UEN) to the Commission. Marijuana.
Date: 1999-11-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: EU research policy, medical research, narcotic, pharmacology

C 203 E/104

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.7.2000

Answer given by Mr Vitorino on behalf of the Commission

(3 December 1999)

1.
As the Honourable Member points out, the Treaty of Amsterdam does not make explicit provision
for Community powers in the field of urban safety. However, at the Tampere European Council, the Heads
of State or Government expressed their desire to see national crime prevention programmes developed.
This would involve exchange of best practices and strengthening cooperation networks. Priorities might be
juvenile delinquency, urban crime and drug-related crime. With this in mind, a request was made to
examine the possibility of a Community-financed programme.

With regard to the collection of crime statistics, this is currently carried out independently by the Member
States, using their own criteria and in accordance with their own internal legislation. For this reason, it is
not possible at present to examine or compare available data. The Commission considers it necessary to
act on this need and is about to propose a draft programme to be called Euclid. Its purpose will be to
provide the Union with an instrument for comparison of police and judicial crime statistics. Once it has
been adopted by the Council, after consultation with Parliament, the instrument will be developed in future
years in close cooperation with national departments in these two areas, with the help of Eurostat and
Europol.

2.
The Commission notes the Honourable Member(cid:146)s suggestion of providing an automatic connection
to the security services for those who work in public places, so that crimes can be reported as soon as they
occur. It would point out that all Member States have a single emergency services number (112) and a
single number for the police. The idea of a number specifically for certain professions, as the Honourable
Member suggests, would have to be examined carefully to assess the advantages and disadvantages of such
a scheme.

As a first step, it would probably be useful to look at the experiences of some of the Member States and,
where necessary, to encourage the provision of information on such measures, which must be introduced
at local level and with the agreement of the various partners involved. The Oisin Community programme
could provide assistance for evaluating such measures. The Commission would then have to see whether
such provisions could be put forward on a broader scale as part of an overall approach to preventing
delinquency.

(2000/C 203 E/131)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1983/99

by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission

(5 November 1999)

Subject: Marijuana

Recent research into drugs to combat obesity and reduce appetite has concentrated on a new series of
products derived from marijuana. Recent studies on such products have confirmed that they have the
effect of suppressing appetite but emphasised their dangerous side-effects, which are far from negligible.

Scientists have considerable reservations about using marijuana, particularly as the consumption of this
substance by children between the ages of 12 and 15 can arrest the development of the brain, with
disastrous consequences for a series of functions such as memory, learning and motor cooordination.

Would the Commission, therefore, approach the institutes of pharmacological research with a view to
regulating the use of marijuana in pharmacological experiments?

18.7.2000

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 203 E/105

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(8 December 1999)

Community pharmaceutical legislation regulates the placing on the market of medicinal products and the
requirements for obtaining marketing authorisations, based on an assessment of the quality, safety and
efficacy of the product.

Community pharmaceutical legislation also regulates (cid:129) to a certain extent (cid:129) the conduct of clinical trials.
A draft directive on good clinical practice has been proposed (1) and is currently being discussed in Council
which has as its main aim the harmonisation of general conditions and requirements under which clinical
trials are authorised and conducted. Neither the existing pharmaceutical legislation nor the draft directive
regulate or propose to regulate which substances may be tested in clinical trials because, as a matter of
principle, any substance could have a positive impact in curing certain diseases and a case by case
evaluation must be made by the authorities with regard to any clinical trial proposed.

(1) COM(97) 369 final modified by COM(1999) 193 final.

(2000/C 203 E/132)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1986/99

by Cristiana Muscardini (NI) to the Commission

(5 November 1999)

Subject: Action to combat corruption

In the light of alarming indications of corruption on the part of leading figures in Russia, a recent G7
decision decreed a freeze on loans to Russia after calling for quarterly information about the state of
accounts as a condition for restoring the flow of funds to the former Soviet empire.

Would the Council set up a committee of inquiry concerning the destination of Community funds
allocated to Russia under the cooperation agreements with that country?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(30 November 1999)

Allegations have recently been made concerning corruption in Russia and the laundering of assistance
funds disbursed by international organisations. In the light of such allegations, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) has set certain requirements for the release of the next tranche (US$ 640 million) of the
US$ 4 500 million structural adjustment loan agreed with Russia in July 1999. The requirements concern
increased transparency of the management of state finances in general and official reserves in particular,
quarterly audits of Central Bank of Russia (CBR) forex reserves, adoption of international accounting
standards by the CBR and withdrawal of CBR assets from five state-owned foreign subsidiaries, which have
in the past been used to manage Russia(cid:146)s forex reserves.

This is primarily a matter for the World Bank and Group of seven most industrialised countries, as the
main suppliers of direct financial assistance. Community funds are not the subject of the allegations
mentioned above. The Commission nonetheless confirms that the recent allegations are of concern to all in
the international community. It has already, in meetings held in the framework of the partnership and
cooperation agreement, pressed Russia to address issues of corruption and money laundering forthrightly.
The Commission has welcomed commitments given by Prime Minister Putin at the Group of eight most
industrialised countries ministerial conference on combating organised crime, held in Moscow on
19-20 October 1999, that Russia will adopt anti-money laundering legislation in line with international
standards in the near future and tackle corruption as a matter of priority.