Ministers fail to reach drugs accord

Date: 17/10/02

By Martin Banks

THE failure of EU justice ministers to agree on proposals for common standards in the fight against drug trafficking has been branded 'very disappointing'.

Ministers meeting in Luxembourg this week backed rules to combat the sexual exploitation of children but were unable to reach a similar accord on drugs.

One stumbling block has been the Netherlands which has declined to sign up to an agreement it fears would threaten its tolerant national legislation on the possession of small quantities of soft drugs.

UK Liberal MEP Sarah Ludford said: 'The ministers' failure to reach agreement on this vitally important issue is very disappointing. A decision on common laws for combating drug trafficking is long overdue and the failure to reach agreement risks sending a signal that they consider the issue unimportant.'

Ludford also criticised justice ministers for 'procrastinating' and 'wasting time' on minor initiatives.

'The justice and home affairs council had a long agenda of some 20 items. But sometimes it seems as if ministers' fondness for lengthy debate outweighs their ambition to actually make progress on common measures for crime-fighting. They should disprove their growing reputation for 'all talk and no action'.'

The accord on child pornography was welcomed by Save the Children, which urged ministers to act as decisively against the abuse of children as it did against terrorism after the 11 September attacks. The agreement includes common definitions of sexual crimes against children and harmonises the penalties national courts can impose.

Vernon Jones, of Save the Children Denmark, said recent high-profile arrests of international child sex rings operating on the internet served as 'classic examples' of why the EU could not afford more delay.

EU justice ministers have failed to agree on proposals for common standards in the fight against drug trafficking.