Council Directive 92/109/EEC of 14 December 1992 on the manufacture and the placing on the market of certain substances used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/109/EEC  of 14 December 1992  on the manufacture and the placing on the market of certain substances used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1),
In cooperation with the European Parliament (2),
Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (3),
Whereas some Member States have adopted measures to monitor the manufacture and the placing on the market of certain substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances; whereas other Member States are about to adopt measures of this kind; whereas it is therefore necessary to establish commun rules at Community level in anticipation of the completed internal market in order to avoid distortion of competition in lawful trading and to ensure uniform application of the rules adopted;
Whereas on 19 December 1988 a Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, hereinafter referred to as the 'United Nations Convention`, was adopted in Vienna; whereas the United Nations Convention is part of the world-wide efforts to combat drugs; whereas the Community participated in the negotiation of that Convention, showing its political will to act within the limits of its competences;
Whereas the requirements of Article 12 of the United Nations Convention, in respect of trade in precursors, (i.e. substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances, are implemented as far as trade between the Community and third countries is concerned by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3677/90 of 13 December 1990 laying down measures to be taken to discourage the diversion of certain substances to the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances (4);
Whereas Article 12 of the United Nations Convention envisages adoption of appropriate measures to monitor manufacture and distribution of precursors; whereas, by decisions taken at its 35th session, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs included additional substances in the tables of the Annex to the Convention; whereas corresponding provisions should be laid down in this Directive in order to detect possible cases of illicit diversion of drugs in the Community or to counter fraudulent imports into the Community and to ensure that common monitoring rules are applied in the Community market;
Whereas the provisions of Article 12 of the United Nations Convention are based on a system of monitoring trade in the substances in question; whereas most trade in these substances is fully licit; whereas the documentation and labelling of consignments of these substances must be sufficiently explicit; whereas it is furthermore important, whilst providing competent authorities with the necessary means of action, to develop within the spirit of the United Nations Convention mechanisms based on close cooperation with the operators concerned and on the development of intelligence gathering, exchange and exploitation;
Whereas, since diversion patterns are constantly changing, it is considered at international level that the procedures provided for in Article 12 of the United Nationsl Convention should be strenghtened to combat effectively the diversion of the substances concerned;
Whereas the Commission and seven Member States participated in the work of the Chemical Action Task Force established by the G7 Economic Summit in Houston on 10 July 1990 to develop effective procedures to prevent diversion of precursor and essential chemicals to illicit drugs manufacture; whereas throughout this work there has been coordination at Community level and close consultation with representatives of trade and industry;
Whereas the Final Report of the Chemical Action Task Force was approved by the G7 Economic Summit in London on 15 July 1991;
Whereas this Final Report, in recognizing the United Nations Convention as the basic instrument of internation cooperation in chemical diversion matters, contains a number of recommendations for reinforcing national and international measures on the basis of that Convention;
Whereas it must be ensured that the manufacture or use of the scheduled substances in category 1 of Annex I to this Directive is subject to possession of a licence; whereas the supply of such substances must in addition be authorized only where the persons to whom they are to be supplied are specifically authorized, either generally or individually, to be supplied with, possess or handle such substances;
Whereas measures should be adopted to establish close cooperation with the operators concerned so that the latter notify suspicious transactions to the competent authorities;
Whereas it is important to establish machinery for administrative cooperation; whereas it is desirable in this connection that the competent authorities in the Community base their actions on Council Regulation (EEC) No 1468/81 of 19 May 1981 on mutual assistance between the administrative authorities of the Member States and cooperation between the latter and the Commission to ensure the correct application of the law on customs and agricultural matters (5); whereas particular attention must be paid to the confidentiality of the information received and exchanged;
Whereas each Member State should introduce penalties sufficiently dissuasive to forestall infringements of the provisions adopted in implementation of this Directive,