EU drugs policy
The EU drug policy is decided by Member States and set down in multiannual strategies and action plans. Drug policy is part of the intergovernmental pillar in the EU. That means that it is decided with unanimity by Member States.
The body that is coordinating and preparing policy issues is the Horisontal Drug Group of the Member States.
The drug policy activities of the European Commission is coordinated by the Drug Coordination Unit in DG Freedom, Security and Justice in the European Commission.
The Member States of the EU are obliged to acceed to the UN conventions on drugs. These international treaties are in effect made part of the EU legal basis.
The EU agency in charge of monitoring the drugs situation in the EU is EMCDDA (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction). They issue a number of reports on overall developments and specific topics.
The Civil Society Forum on Drugs meets at least once a year and serves as a platform for informal exchanges of views and information between the Commission and civil society organisations. Eurad is presently a member of the Forum.
Key EU documents
The current EU Drugs Strategy (2005-2012) is here.
The current EU Drugs Action Plan is here.
Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA of 25 October 2004 laying down minimum provisions on the constituent elements of criminal acts and penalties in the field of illicit drug trafficking. See here. This legally binding document establishing common minimum rules for punishment of trafficking and sales of illegal drugs in the EU (see excerpts below).
Other decisions, actions, resolutions and recommendations may be found here.
Key EU web sources
The web page of the European Commission Drug Coordination Unit is here.
The web page of EMCDDA is here.
Funding opportunities
The EU Drug Prevention and Information Programme is aimed at supporting organisations - such as non-profit organisations, voluntary associations, foundations, NGOs or similar bodies, active in the field of Drug Prevention and Information for their activities in their financial year 2010. See more information here.
Policies and Priorities
Excerpts from the EU Drugs strategy on demand reduction:
Measurable reduction of the use of drugs, of dependence and of drug-related health and social risks through the development and improvement of an effective and integrated comprehensive knowledge-based demand reduction system including prevention, early intervention, treatment, harm reduction, rehabilitation and social reintegration measures within the EU Member States.
Such a demand reduction system implies the following measures using all the options available according to the latest state of scientific knowledge:
All these measures are complementary and should be offered in an integrated manner and ultimately contribute to reducing the use of drugs and dependence and to reducing the drugrelated health and social consequences."
Excerpts from the EU Member States supply reduction:
"In the field of supply reduction, the EU Drugs Strategy 2005-2012 and the Action Plans are to yield the following concrete, identifiable result by 2012:
A measurable improvement in the effectiveness, efficiency and knowledge base of law enforcement interventions and actions by the EU and its Member States targeting production, trafficking of drugs, the diversion of precursors, including the diversion of synthetic drug precursors imported into the EU, drug trafficking and the financing of terrorism, money laundering in relation to drug crime.
Strengthening EU law enforcement cooperation on both strategic levels and crime prevention levels, in order to enhance operational activities in the field of drugs and the diversion of precursors on issues of production, (intra EU)cross-border trafficking of drugs, criminal networks engaged in these activities and related serious crime, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity.
Strategic cooperation at EU level in the area of law enforcement with regard to drugs and precursors should give priority to those issues and crime forms that have an impact on the EU as a whole and thus clearly provide an added value to all Member States. This includes production, illicit (intra EU) cross-border drug trafficking, criminal networks engaged in these activities and related serious crime. Furthermore, while strategic action is needed to curb the flow of drugs from third countries into the EU, it is also necessary to curb the flow of drugs from the EU to third countries.
Intensifying effective law enforcement cooperation between Member States using existing instruments and frameworks.
Prevention and punishment of the illicit import and export of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including towards the territories of other Member States.
Enhancing law enforcement, criminal investigation and forensic science cooperation between EU member states, within an EU framework, that have common interests and/or face the same drug-related problems.
Intensifying law enforcement efforts directed at non-EU countries, especially producer countries and regions along trafficking routes."
Excerpts from Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA of 25 october 2004 laying down minimum provisions on the constituent elements of criminal acts and penalties in the field of illicit drug trafficking (full text is here).
(1) Illicit drug trafficking poses a threat to health, safety and the quality of life of citizens of the European Union, and to the legal economy, stability and security of the Member States
(3) It is necessary to adopt minimum rules relating to the constituent elements of the offences of illicit trafficking in drugs and precursors which will allow a common approach at European Union level to the fight against such trafficking.
(4) By virtue of the principle of subsidiarity, European Union action should focus on the most serious types of drug offence. The exclusion of certain types of behaviour as regards personal consumption from the scope of this Framework Decision does not constitute a Council guideline on how Member States should deal with these other cases in their national legislation.
(5) Penalties provided for by the Member States should be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, and include custodial sentences. To determine the level of penalties, factual elements such as the quantities and the type of drugs trafficked, and whether the offence was committed within the framework of a criminal organisation, should be taken into account.
(6) Member States should be allowed to make provision for reducing the penalties when the offender has supplied the competent authorities with valuable information.
(7) It is necessary to take measures to enable the confiscation of the proceeds of the offences referred to in this Framework Decision.
(8) Measures should be taken to ensure that legal persons can be held liable for the criminal offences referred to by this Framework Decision which are committed for their benefit.
(9) The effectiveness of the efforts made to tackle illicit drug trafficking depends essentially on the harmonisation of the national measures implementing this Framework Decision,
[...]
Article 4
Penalties
1. Each Member State shall take the measures necessary to ensure that the offences defined in Articles 2 and 3 are punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties.
Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the offences referred to in Article 2 are punishable by criminal penalties of a maximum of at least between one and three years of imprisonment.
2. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the offences referred to in Article 2(1)(a), (b) and (c) are punishable by criminal penalties of a maximum of at least between 5 and 10 years of imprisonment in each of the following circumstances:
(a) the offence involves large quantities of drugs;
(b) the offence either involves those drugs which cause the most harm to health, or has resulted in significant damage to the health of a number of persons.
3. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the offences referred to in paragraph 2 are punishable by criminal penalties of a maximum of at least 10 years of deprivation of liberty, where the offence was committed within the framework of a criminal organisation as defined in Joint Action 98/733/JHA of 21 December 1998 on making it a criminal offence to participate in a criminal organisation in the Member States of the European Union [5].
4. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the offences referred to in Article 2(1)(d) are punishable by criminal penalties of a maximum of at least between 5 and 10 years of deprivation of liberty, where the offence was committed within the framework of a criminal organisation as defined in Joint Action 98/733/JHA and the precursors are intended to be used in or for the production or manufacture of drugs under the circumstances referred to in paragraphs 2(a) or (b).
5. Without prejudice to the rights of victims and of other bona fide third parties, each Member State shall take the necessary measures to enable the confiscation of substances which are the object of offences referred to in Articles 2 and 3, instrumentalities used or intended to be used for these offences and proceeds from these offences or the confiscation of property the value of which corresponds to that of such proceeds, substances or instrumentalities.
The terms "confiscation", "instrumentalities", "proceeds" and "property" shall have the same meaning as in Article 1 of the 1990 Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime.
Article 5
Particular circumstances
Notwithstanding Article 4, each Member State may take the necessary measures to ensure that the penalties referred to in Article 4 may be reduced if the offender:
(a) renounces criminal activity relating to trafficking in drugs and precursors, and
(b) provides the administrative or judicial authorities with information which they would not otherwise have been able to obtain, helping them to:
(i) prevent or mitigate the effects of the offence,
(ii) identify or bring to justice the other offenders,
(iii) find evidence, or
(iv) prevent further offences referred to in Articles 2 and 3.
Article 6
Liability of legal persons
1. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that legal persons can be held liable for any of the criminal offences referred to in Articles 2 and 3 committed for their benefit by any person, acting either individually or as a member of an organ of the legal person in question, who has a leading position within the legal person, based on one of the following:
(a) a power of representation of the legal person;
(b) an authority to take decisions on behalf of the legal person;
(c) an authority to exercise control within the legal person.
2. Apart from the cases provided for in paragraph 1, each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that legal persons can be held liable where the lack of supervision or control by a person referred to in paragraph 1 has made possible the commission of any of the offences referred to in Articles 2 and 3 for the benefit of that legal person by a person under its authority.
3. Liability of legal persons under paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not exclude criminal proceedings against natural persons who are perpetrators, instigators or accessories in any of the offences referred to in Articles 2 and 3.
Article 7
Sanctions for legal persons
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that a legal person held liable pursuant to Article 6(1) is punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, which shall include criminal or non-criminal fines and may include other sanctions, such as:
(a) exclusion from entitlement to tax relief or other benefits or public aid;
(b) temporary or permanent disqualification from the pursuit of commercial activities;
(c) placing under judicial supervision;
(d) a judicial winding-up order;
(e) temporary or permanent closure of establishments used for committing the offence;
(f) in accordance with Article 4(5), the confiscation of substances which are the object of offences referred to in Articles 2 and 3, instrumentalities used or intended to be used for these offences and proceeds from these offences or the confiscation of property the value of which corresponds to that of such proceeds, substances or instrumentalities.
2. Each Member State shall take the necessary measures to ensure that a legal person held liable pursuant to Article 6(2) is punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions or measures."
