Activites

• 2003/07/03 Final act published in Official Journal
• 2003/06/18 End of procedure in Parliament
• #2516
• 2003/06/17 Council Meeting
• 2003/06/17 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• 2003/02/13 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
  • T5-0061/2003 summary

    The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on the report by Minerva MALLIORI (PES, Greece) and made several amendments to the Commission's proposal. (Please refer to the summary dated 28/01/03.) Amongst the recommendations to Member States were the following: - to make policies on drug dependence and risk reduction more effective by listening to the experiences of former drug users, families and community drug workers; - to establish tailor-made drug prevention schemes and treatment policies for high-risk environments such as prisons; - to encourage user involvement in the planning, delivery and evaluation of initiatives; - to recognise the value of self-help groups; - to promote programmes which are an alternative to a prison sentence in cases where addicts have committed drugs offences, possibly in conjunction with compulsory withdrawal courses. There are also several recommendations to the Commission, including, in the context of the Community action programme on public health (2003-2008): - to encourage the listing of best practices for the prevention and reduction of risks associated with drug dependence; - to support measures to reduce risks associated with drug dependence as a lifestyle related health determinant; - to seek to incorporate anti-drug strategy into other Community policies.�

• 2003/01/28 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A5-0021/2003
• #2470
• 2002/12/02 Council Meeting
  • 2470 summary

    The Council established a general approach, pending the European Parliament's opinion, on a draft Council Recommendation on the prevention and reduction of risks associated with drug dependence. The Italian delegation was unable to endorse this general approach. The Recommendation will be adopted at a future Council session, once the Parliament has given its opinion. The German, Luxembourg and Netherlands delegations made a separate statement for the Council minutes on the use of public injection rooms in bringing chronically ill drug-users within the reach of health institutions and in initiating the process of rehabilitation.�

• #2440
• 2002/06/26 Council Meeting
  • 2440
• 2002/06/13 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 2002/05/08 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(2002)0201 summary

    PURPOSE : Copuncil Recommendation on reducing the incidence of drug related health damage. CONTENT : The EU Drugs Strategy (2000-2004), endorsed by the European Council in December 1999, has three main public health targets. The second of these is to reduce substantially over five years the incidence of drug-related health damage (HIV, hepatitis B and C, tuberculosis, etc) and the number of drug-related deaths. The main goal of this recommedation is to facilitate the achievement of this target. According to the annual reports of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), illegal drug use is more concentrated among young adults. Cannabis is the most widely used, with amphetamines and ecstasy in second position, cocaine in an increasing third position and heroin at a broadly stable low level. Prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B and C among injecting drug users appears relatively stable, although the prevalence of hepatitis C infection is high. Risk-reduction measures have been successful in decreasing drug-related deaths and serious health problems. Risk reduction includes needle exchange and other hygienic measures involving drug injecting, substitution treatment, low threshold services, information and counselling on safer use and safer sex, and outreach work. The intensity of risk reduction responses of the Member States appears to differ considerably between countries. Member States with lower availability of risk reduction measures may be at risk for new increases in HIV, and hepatitis B and C transmission. Evaluation is a key tool for improving drug prevention and the reduction of drug dependence associated risks. The EU drugs strategy includes a whole chapter on evaluation and Community and national policies could foster significant advances in this area. This Council Recommendation also supports the development of evidence-based evaluation to increase the efficacy of drug prevention and the reduction of drug related health risks.�

  • DG [{'url': 'http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/index_en.htm', 'title': 'Health and Consumers'}],

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(2002)0201
• Debate in Council: 2440
• Debate in Council: 2470
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A5-0021/2003
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T5-0061/2003

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)