on the work of the Committee of Inquiry into Drugs Trafficking

The European Parliament,

-having regard to oral questions B3-1898/rev., 1899/rev. and 1900/rev./91 following the work of the Committee of Inquiry into Drugs Trafficking,

A.whereas past years have shown a serious rise in organized crime linked to drugs trafficking, as well as a rise in business crime and corruption,

B.whereas these forms of crime are making use of the infrastructure of the legal economy within the Community, e.g. by means of money laundering,

C.whereas such developments are threatening to undermine our democracies and the social welfare of our societies,

D.whereas it is necessary to investigate further the impact that completion of the internal market may have on these developments,

1.Stresses that the Member States must adopt a more coherent approach to the problems of organized and business crime;

2.Underlines that this coherent approach should include close cooperation with United Nations bodies involved in the fight against global crime;

3.Welcomes the decision of the Maastricht Summit, incorporated in the draft treaty on European Union, to institute Community-wide cooperation in justice and internal affairs;

4.Calls on the Member States and the Commission to put the Maastricht proposals into practice as soon as possible, particularly in order to safeguard civil rights and the free movement of people within a Community without frontiers;

5.Emphasizes that by means of its newly-created Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs it intends to examine and counteract more thoroughly any threats to internal security that the abolition of frontiers might cause;

6.Calls on the Member States and the Commission to examine closely the results of the work of the Committee of Inquiry into Drugs Trafficking, bearing in mind that the abolition of internal frontiers and the creation of an integrated area highlight the need not to change the current strategy for combating drug-trafficking, which is based on prohibition;

7.Does not believe that any form of legalization represents a viable solution to the drugs problem and reaffirms its support for the rule of law as encompassed in the UN Conventions and in the legislation of Member States;

8.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments of the Member States.