1. Council Regulation (2046/97) on 'North-South co-operation schemes in the context of the campaign against drug abuse' established the legal basis for the budget line providing for commitments totalling 8.9 mecu (about £5.9 million in 1998).
In the context of its co-operation activities in the field of drugs and drug addiction in developing countries, the European Community will give priority to those which have demonstrated political will at the highest level to solve their drug problem.
The Community will give priority at the request of a partner country to supporting the preparation of a national drug control master plan, in close consultation with the United Nations International Drug Control Programme.
Preferably operating within the strategic framework established by national plans, the Community will also support specific operations capable of a measurable impact in the following areas:
· implementation of national drug control plans by developing countries.2. The PHARE Drugs Programme. The EC has committed 33 mecu from 1992-1998 to assist 13 countries of Central and Eastern Europe in their efforts to combat drugs and drug related crime. There are three elements to this programme: demand reduction; supply reduction; and the development of a multidisciplinary and integrated policy based on a balanced approach between the two.
· implementation of agreements between the Community and certain developing countries.
· demand reduction
· promotion of pilot alternative development projects.
· financing of studies, seminars, and fora for the exchange of experience
To complement its main drugs programme, PHARE has also supported both police training and customs modernisation. Finally, PHARE has supported civil society in the field of drug demand reduction.
3. TACIS is the European Union's programme of technical assistance promoting economic reform in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The European Council, held in Florence in June 1996, opened up the possibility of drawing on Tacis funding to develop activities in the field of Justice & Home Affairs (JHA). At the European Council in Dublin, the EU agreed ways to assist Newly Independent States in the fight against drug production and trafficking.
Under the 1996 Tacis inter-state programme, 0.5 mecu was committed to undertake high-level experts' missions to assess the situation in the JHA sector, identifying seven projects to be financed under the 1997 programme budget (3 mecu). These initiatives involve:
· law approximation and the reinforcement of the institutional capacity to fight against drug trafficking;In addition, a further allocation of 3 mecu under the 1998 inter-state programme will allow the broadening of the scope of JHA activity to include:
· reinforcing the technical capabilities of police;
·reinforcing controls at border crossings, airports and ports;
· support for a regional centre for the training of sniffer dogs.
· the fight against money laundering;4. The Commission's paper for the mid-term review of the Generalised Set of Preferences proposes additional trade access to the EU market should be available for Andean countries and Venezuela.
· crime prevention;
·and migration.
· that these countries continue their respective efforts to combat illicit drugs.5. Regional programmes. The EC is also engaged in important initiatives in Peru and Bolivia. In the Mediterranean, the EC has approved a large integrated rural development project in the northern provinces of Morocco (the Rif region).
· that they meet social and environmental standards. The Community will discuss these proposals with a view to introducing a revised scheme early in 1999.
6. Clauses on the "fight against drugs" are included as a matter of routine in the EC's external co-operation agreements.
7. For the ACP States, drug-related projects can be financed from the Indicative Programmes under Lomé IV. For instance, the Caribbean Regional Indicative Programme envisages support for the fight against illegal drug production, processing, trafficking and consumption, as well as for rehabilitation and money-laundering programmes.
The Department for International Development (DFID) is the British government department responsible for promoting development and the reduction of poverty. The government elected in May 1997 increased its commitment to development by strengthening the department and increasing its budget.
The policy of the government was set out in the White Paper on International Development, published in November 1997. The central focus of the policy is a commitment to the internationally agreed target to halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015, together with the associated targets including basic health care provision and universal access to primary education by the same date.
DFID seeks to work in partnership with governments which are committed to the international targets, and seeks to work with business, civil society and the research community to encourage progress which will help reduce poverty. We also work with multilateral institutions including the World Bank, UN agencies and the European Commission. The bulk of our assistance is concentrated on the poorest countries in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
We are also contributing to poverty elimination and sustainable development in middle income countries, and helping the transition countries in Central and Eastern Europe to try to ensure that the widest number of people benefit from the process of change.
As well as its headquarters in London and East Kilbride, DFID has offices in New Delhi, Bangkok, Nairobi, Harare, Pretoria, Dhaka, Suva and Bridgetown. In other parts of the world, DFID works through staff based in British embassies and high commissions.
Headquarters:
DFID
94 Victoria Street
London SW1E 5JL
UK
DFID
Abercrombie House
Eaglesham Road
East Kilbride
Glasgow G75 8EA
UK
Website: www.dfid.gov.uk
email: enquiry@dfid.gov.uk
Public enquiry point: 0845 3004100
From overseas: +44 1355 84 3132
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3/99 1.5K Produced by Wave and Fuller Davies for DFID
Information Department
