PROPOSAL FOR A RECOMMENDATION - d'Ancona Report

Proposal for a European Parliament recommendation to the Council on the harmonization of the Member States' laws on drugs

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the proposal for a recommendation to the Council by Mrs Aglietta and 60 other Members on the harmonization of the Member States' laws on drugs (B4-1238/96),

- having regard to Article K.6 of the EU Treaty,

- having regard to Rule 46(3) of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to its resolution of 15 June 1995 on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on a European Union action plan to combat drugs (1995-1999),

- having regard to the Joint Action of 17 December 1996 concerning the approximation of the laws and practices of the Member States of the European Union to combat drug addiction and to prevent and combat illegal drug trafficking,

- having regard to the world drug report drawn up by the UN International Drug Control Programme,

- HAVING REGARD TO THE 1997 EUROPEAN MONITORING CENTRE FOR DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION ANNUAL REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE DRUGS PROBLEM IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Civil Liberties and Internal Affairs (A4-0359/97),

Puts to the Council the following recommendations:

1. Notes that the divergent approaches taken to the drugs problem are currently impeding the harmonization of laws and practices to combat drug and calls, therefore, on the Council to gear European drugs policy, both domestic and international, primarily to a tangible REINFORCEMENT and improvement in cooperation between the EU INSTITUTIONS, the Member States, the regions and the urban areas;

2. Recognizing the need for pragmatism, calls on Member States to bring national laws into line with the way their laws are applied in practice;

3. REGARDS POLICY EXPERIMENTS LED AT URBAN AND REGIONAL LEVEL AIMED AT REDUCING AND CONTROLLING THE DRUGS DEMAND AND CRIMINALITY, FOLLOWING A "RISK AND HARM REDUCTION" APPROACH, AS BEING OF DECISIVE IMPORTANCE IN THE RESEARCH OF NEW METHODS TO FIGHT DRUGS RELATED PROBLEMS;

4. Calls on the Council, in accordance with the programme of Community action on the prevention of drug dependence(1996-2000), to extend the powers of local and regional authorities as far as drugs are concerned, in accordance with the subsidiarity principle;

5. Calls on the Member States to do all in their power to ensure that EITHER THE RIGHT TO THERAPEUTIC FREEDOM AND the right to adequate medical treatment also applies without exception to those dependent on drugs;

6. urges the Council to make more funds available for the prevention of the demand for drugs as well as for information and education, a harm-reduction policy, for the improvement of the health and care facilities for those dependent on drugs, as well as for the control and reduction of the drug offer;

7. Believes that, on the basis of Article 129 of the Draft Treaty of Amsterdam and seen the positive results of several EU States, the programmes which make it possible for SUBSTITUTION SUBSTANCES AND hard drugs to be supplied on medical prescription represent effective measures in the aim of progressively reducing the diffusion of the drugs and of the subsequent risks and must therefore be supported;

8. REGARDS WITH SATISFACTION THE ACTIVITIES OF THE EMCDDA IN THE FIELD OF DEMAND REDUCTION AND CONTROL, CALLS IT TO STRENGTHEN ITS RESEARCHES IN THE FIELD OF the control and the reduction of the offer.

9. Calls on the European monitoring centre for drugs to present to the Member States, before the UN General Assembly on Drugs of June 1998, a number of indicators, both as far as the demand and the offer are concerned, that allow to proceed to a serious and homogeneous evaluation at a EU level;

10. Calls on the Council to consider the possibility of including the countries of Central Europe and Cyprus in the REITOX network AND OF GIVING TO ALL FOCAL POINTS OF THE NETWORK A UNIFORM AND AUTONOMOUS STATUS;

11. Calls on the Council to make the Member State proceed to an independent evaluation of the results of the policies carried out in the framework of the UN Conventions on drugs and to ask, at the UN General Assembly on Drugs to be held next June, a similar evaluation of costs/benefits of the policies proceeding from the UN Conventions to be made in all the Member States of the international community;

12. Calls on the Council at the UN General Assembly on Drugs to be held next June to propose to modify THE CLASSIFICATION OF CANNABIS NOW IN ACT IN ORDER TO ALLOW THE STATES THAT SO WISH TO REGULATE THE MARKET OF CANNABIS AND ITS DERIVATES FOR NON MEDICAL USE.

13. Instructs its President to forward this recommendation to the Council and, for information, to the Commission and the governments of the Member States.