Public health: Community action programme 1996-2000 on the prevention of drug dependence

The rapporteur, Mr BURTONE (EPP, I) recommended: - financial support for projects for drug addicts who had completed a programme of treatment, - employment for drug addicts in non-dangerous jobs, - contracts guaranteeing that workers who completed a drug treatment programme could keep their jobs, - the possibility for parents or people caring for drug addicts to be granted special working hours or additional leave. Finally, the rapporteur wanted the European Drug Observatory to be made an operational centre that would assist NGOs above all. On behalf of the RDE Group, Mr CABROL (F) stated that he opposed Amendment No 28, which called for coordination with the three other pillars to prevent drug addiction. He also opposed Amendment No 40, which excluded the representatives of the Member States who had not had any experience of voluntary work from the committee responsible for implementation of the programme, and Amendment No 54 as he did not believe that treating drug addicts was the responsibility of the Union. Commissioner Flynn supported around 20 of the amendments that clarified the Commission’s text. However, he rejected Amendments Nos 2, 3, 5, 15, 35, 37, 41, 42, 43 and 53 (improving scientific knowledge) as they went beyond the scope of this programme (for example Amendment No 37, which aimed to provide special aid, within the framework of development cooperation, to the drug-producing countries in their efforts to control domestic demand). He was also opposed to Amendments Nos 1, 6, 8, 11, 12, 22, 52, 54, and 55 to 62, which made a political judgement about the international strategy (for example Amendment No 55, which set out common ideas on the evaluation of the legitimacy and effectiveness of prohibitionist legislation). Finally, he rejected Amendments Nos 4, 7, 10, 14, 16, 17, 18, 23, 25, 27, 32, 44 to 46 and 51, which proposed a less flexible system than that suggested by the Commission: Amendment No 44 = instead of regular information, an annual report on the implementation of the programme, Amendment No 45 = specifying 30 September of each year as the deadline, Amendment No 46 = enabling the Commission to change its priorities among the various prevention activities in view of the changeable nature of drug demand. Supporting its rapporteur, Parliament referred this report back to the Committee on the Environment for examination of the Commission’s position.