COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION of the EU Drugs Strategy 2013-2020 and the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2017-2020
Date: 2020-07-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU action, EU strategy, European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, drug addiction, drug traffic, fight against crime, international cooperation, prevention of delinquency, project evaluation, psychotropic substance

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.7.2020  SWD(2020) 151 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION            of the         EU Drugs Strategy 2013-2020 and the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2017-2020  {SWD(2020) 150 final}  
 
 
The EU Drugs Strategy 2013-20201 and its second EU Action Plan on Drugs 2017-20202 set 
out  the  political  framework  and  priorities  for  EU  drugs  policy.  The  Strategy  provided  a 
balanced,  integrated,  evidence-based  framework  for  tackling  drugs  in  and  outside  the 
EU,  and  consisted  of  two  main  policy  areas  –  drug  demand  and  supply  –  and  three 
cross-cutting  themes:  coordination,  international  cooperation,  and  research,  information, 
monitoring and evaluation.  

The Commission launched the evaluation  of the Strategy and Action Plan in  2019 to  assess 
their  implementation  in  terms  of  relevance,  coherence,  effectiveness,  efficiency,  and  EU 
added  value.  A  wide  range  of  stakeholders  were  consulted  including  Member  States 
competent authorities, civil society organisations and the general public.   

The  evaluation  found  that  the  technological,  social,  political  and  environmental  context 
affecting  the  demand  and  supply  of  drugs  has  changed  considerably  since  2013  making  the 
Strategy  and  Action  Plan  only  partially  relevant.  However,  they  are  largely  coherent  with 
relevant European legislation and policy at international level. 

The Strategy and Action Plan have been partially effective in achieving the drug demand and 
supply reduction objectives. On the other hand, they were more effective in terms of the three 
cross-cutting  objectives.  The  evaluation  found  that  drug  policy  was  overall  effectively 
coordinated at EU and international levels, and contributed to the ability of the EU to ‘speak 
with  one  voice’,  while  the  understanding  of  the  drugs  phenomenon  and  the  impact  of 
interventions has been improving.  

On efficiency, the evaluation found no conclusive evidence that the  results  attributed to  the 
Strategy and Action Plan were achieved at either reasonable or unreasonable cost. The lack of 
available  quantifiable  data  regarding  related  costs  made  it  difficult  to  carry  out  a  sound 
assessment on efficiency. 

The Strategy and Action Plan generated EU added value insofar as they achieved results that 
national or other European initiatives would not have achieved. In particular, they established 
a  common  strategic  framework,  ‘bridging’  between  Member  States,  and  different  levels  of 
governance.  They  encouraged  cross-border  coordination,  exchange  of  information  and  best 
practices among Member States.  

The stakeholder consultations suggest that there is continued support from Member States 
and  civil  society  organisations  for  strategic  EU  involvement  in  drugs  policy,  and  the 
outright discontinuation of the Strategy was seen as likely to have negative effects. 

There is room for reflection on how to enhance the future EU strategic document on drugs, 
including  making  it  concrete,  translating  it  into  more  operational  and  robust  actions,  and 
setting clear priorities. Monitoring should be simplified. In this context, the Strategy’s current 
lifespan of 8 years could be shortened.  

1 OJ C 402, 29.12.2012, p. 1. 

2 OJ C 215, 05.07.2017, p. 21. 

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Future  priorities  need  to  account  for  trends  such  as  increased  poly-criminality  of  organized 
crime groups and their adaptive and innovative modus operandi; role of the EU as a producer 
and  exporter;  increased  levels  of  violence  and  corruption  that  enable  the  drug  trade; 
technologic  enablers  such  as  darknet  marketplaces,  cryptocurrencies  and  encryption 
technology for buying/selling drugs; new patterns of drug consumption between young people 
and  the  aging  population,  as  well  as  gender  differences;  societal  and  environmental  effects. 
The  consequences  of  the  drug  phenomenon  are  becoming  more  complex  and  intertwined, 
extend across different sectors and go beyond EU’s borders. The future strategic approach to 
EU  drugs  policy  must  be  evidence-based,  balanced  and  further  integrated  to  reflect  the 
relevant trends that the EU will be facing in the coming years.  

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