The Irish Presidency of the EU between January and June 2004 saw considerable activity in the drugs field, including the following:

§         EU Drugs Strategy 2005–2012 A preparatory conference ‘EU Strategy on Drugs – The Way Forward’ was held in Dublin on 10/11 May. The European Council welcomed the conclusions of the conference, and the Dutch Presidency is now tasked with drafting the new strategy with a view to its adoption no later than December 2004. A summary of the main elements discussed at the Dublin conference is available (9595/04 CORDROGUE 36 REV 1). 

§         New Narcotic and New Synthetic Drugs – Proposal for a Council Decision on Information Exchange, Risk Assessment and Control The Irish Presidency prioritised discussion on this proposal from the European Commission, with a view to obtaining agreement on a new joint action, revising the 1997 joint action. The text was agreed except for the scope of the instrument and its legal base. These issues are to be addressed under the Dutch Presidency. The original Commission proposal and subsequent documents are available (13821/03 CORDROGUE 90; 9152/04 CORDROGUE 30; 10431/04 CORDROGUE 42).

§         Supply/Demand Reduction and Synthetic Drugs – Action Plans The Presidency received an update on the implementation of plans in the areas of supply/demand reduction and synthetic drugs. A report is available (10481/04 CORDROGUE 43 + COR 1). The Presidency also convened a brainstorming session on the issue of data collection and interpretation in the area of forensic analysis and profiling. The outcome of this session is available (6204/04  CORDROGUE 21).

§         National Co-Ordinators in the Enlarged EU The Irish Presidency hosted the first meeting of the national drugs co-ordinators in the enlarged EU, held on 15 June. Among other matters, the meeting examined the issue of cocaine, hearing presentations from the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and the Irish National Advisory Committee on Drugs (NACD).

§         47th Session of Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) The Irish Presidency co-ordinated the positions of the member states and accession countries in relation to resolutions put forward at the 47th session of the CND, held in Vienna in March. Ireland delivered eight statements in plenary sessions of the CND on behalf of the EU and acceding countries; sponsored an EU resolution on ‘Optimising Integrated Drug Information Systems’, which was adopted by the plenary session; and co-sponsored a further nine resolutions on behalf of the EU and acceding countries.

§         International Relations The Irish Presidency prepared and co-chaired a series of high-level meetings with the EU’s international partners in the drugs field, including Latin America and the Caribbean, the Andean Community, Iran, and the Western Balkans.

The National Drugs Strategy Unit in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs supplied the information on which this news item is based.  The documents cited in this article are available on the Council of the European Union’s archive.