I External aid

Horizontal Issues
The European
Community is fighting
drug consumption
and trafficking
in over 100 non-EU
countries.
36
6. DRUGS
ANNUAL REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S EXTERNAL ASSISTANCE
Prevention, treatment, social and professional rehabilitation
of addicts, epidemiological studies, combating money laundering,
creation of new legislation… The questions raised by
the trafficking and consumption of drugs are demanding targeted
specific answers as part of a global strategy. These are
the objectives of the European Union Action Plan in this
field.
Drug use is no longer the prerogative of rich nations, as
consumption in less advanced countries has risen fast – for
example in Southern Asia, heroin… Aside from the attendant
problems of corruption and criminality, this consumption is
a major vector in the spread of AIDS and hepatitis.
Faced with the world-wide drug problem, the Commission
has adopted a global strategy which finds concrete expression
in the European Union’s Anti-Drug Action Plans.
2000-2004 ACTION PLAN*
The plan responds to the following objectives:
- ensuring that combating drugs remains a major EU action
priority;
- reducing both supply and demand and the negative
effects of drug consumption;
- continuing to gather, analyse and disseminate objective,
reliable and comparable information on the drug phenomenon
in the EU, with the help of the EMCDDA** (European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction) and
Europol;***
- promoting police co-operation between Member States
and promoting international co-operation.
* http://emcda.org/multimedia/actionplan/cordrogue32en.pdf
** http://www/emcdda.org
*** http://www.europol.eu.int/home.htm
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In line with the recommendations of the United Nations
General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS, June
1998), (30) Community co-operation is taking three main
directions:
◗ measures to reduce both demand and supply in a balanced
fashion;
◗ the principle of “shared responsibility” between producer,
transit and consumer countries;
◗ making drug control an integral part of development cooperation.
The Commission is currently focusing its actions on the two
main routes along which drugs are entering the European
Union (see box). In order to achieve a more appropriate response
to the problem, it is also seeking to improve its knowledge
of the drugs situation in third countries, by financing
data gathering projects in these countries.
6.1. Activities in 2000
Today the European Community is supporting a raft of projects
to combat drugs in over 100 non-EU countries. These
programmes, with projects in excess of €100 million,
include prevention, treatment, the social and professional
rehabilitation of addicts, epidemiology, alternative development
for drug crop farmers, control of precursors; (chemicals
used for drug production) customs and police co-operation,
institutional support for developing national policies, cracking
down on money laundering and new legislation.
The Community has also co-financed reports by the l’Observatoire
géopolitique des drogues (OGD), (31) which presents
the situation of the drug phenomenon from a global and geopolitical
angle. The Commission has maintained its support
for a number of projects to reduce drug demand, working
together with governments and NGOs. Apart from funding
projects involving treatment, re-integration of drug addicts
and the reduction of risks associated with drug addiction, it
is supporting the setting up of NGO networks which make it
easier to identify and spread best substitution practices.
Lastly, the Community is funding several programmes to
combat money laundering and is joining the effort undertaken
by the OECD in this field.
(30) http://www.un.org/ga/20 special
(31) http://www.ogd.org