Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-11-18-Speech-4-084"
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"en.19991118.6.4-084"2
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"The Commission will of course be present during the debate this afternoon, but I will not be there personally.
The Commission's communication represents, in my opinion, a good starting point for a global, multidisciplinary and integrated European strategy to fight illicit drugs on the line that was approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1998.
The observatory in Lisbon and Europol in The Hague are two important instruments that can contribute significantly to our strategy. I am, therefore, confident that we have the potential and will find the political will to respond to the new challenges in the perspective of the 2000-2004 European Union drugs strategy.
Despite considerable efforts to prevent drug abuse and addiction the drug problem continues to pose threats and challenges on the eve of the year 2000. The most serious health problems are caused by the use of opiates and, in particular, heroin, amphetamines and multi-drug use. Cannabis is still the most commonly used illicit drug in the Union. Infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C have reached high prevalence amongst intravenous drug users. Organised crime plays an increasingly dominant role in drug production and trafficking. We have to respond to these challenges.
I should also extend my sincerest gratitude to Parliament, particularly to the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs and the rapporteur, Mrs Giannakou-Koutsikou, for the quality of their work and the speed with which they have commended the Commission's communication on combating drugs for the period 2000 to 2004. This will allow the Helsinki European Council to adopt an efficient strategy against this disturbing phenomenon.
The main general targets for the European Union's strategy against drugs for the next five years can be summarised as follows: to reduce significantly the prevalence of illicit drug use among young people under 18 years of age; to reduce substantially the number of drug-related deaths; to increase considerably the number of successfully treated addicts and to reduce substantially the number of serious drug-related crimes, including money laundering and illicit traffic in precursors.
In the field of demand reduction, preventive measures and programmes for children and young people should, instead of focusing exclusively on illegal drugs, address addiction in general, including aspects of alcohol and tobacco use. Training of professionals from social, health, education and law enforcement sectors is a prerequisite for effective action.
In the field of supply reduction, the emergence of new synthetic drugs makes it necessary to find ways to respond quickly to the appearance of new substances and consumption trends. The establishment of voluntary monitoring mechanisms for new chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of synthetic drugs, as well as enhanced cooperation with trade, will constitute the major priorities in this area. Efforts to curb money laundering have to be intensified through the rapid adoption and subsequent implementation of the recently proposed amendment to the money laundering directive. Following the Tampere European Council, priority has to be given to the prevention of juvenile, urban and drug-related delinquency and to the progressive harmonisation of European Union legislation on illicit drug trafficking.
In the past, Member States and the Commission have given insufficient priority to the evaluation of anti-drugs activities. This must change. Evaluation must become an integral part of the European Union approach. The Commission has already begun this evaluation and hopes to do more in the future. The observatory in Lisbon can contribute by issuing guidelines for the evaluation of demand and supply reduction activities.
The implementation of five harmonised key indicators – demand for treatment by drug users, drug-related deaths, mortality and causes of death among drug-users, the incidence of drug-related infectious diseases, the comparability of surveys of drug use, behaviour and attitudes towards drugs in the general population and finally, the comparability of the prevalence estimates of problem drug use – plays an important role in this context.
Adoption of the European Union drugs strategy for the first years of the new millennium is not the end of the debate. I understand that the coming Portuguese presidency will implement the European Union drugs strategy through the presentation of more concrete priorities for the years 2000-2004. We will, as well, have the possibility of working together with European institutions on the organisation of an interinstitutional conference to discuss the implementation of the European Union drugs strategy, possibly at the beginning of next year. I hope that on that occasion we will be able to evaluate the inter-pillar Council meeting that has been suggested by the rapporteur."@en1
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