Peace pipe on offer in drugs policy conflict

Date: 09/01/1997

By Mark Turner

HOPES are rising that France and the Netherlands will hold a mini-summit on drugs this year, following a breakthrough in relations just before Christmas.

Despite harsh exchanges between their leaders during 1996, the French and Dutch eventually agreed to a joint action bringing EU anti-drugs laws closer together.

The accord marked a watershed in relations between Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok and French President Jacques Chirac, with Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene claiming it had opened the way for a mini-summit on drugs policy to be held between the two countries, alongside Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium.

A similar conference had been scheduled for spring 1996, but was put on indefinite hold because of continuing Franco-Dutch disputes. It is still unclear whether the December rapprochement will in fact be enough to bring ministers to the table.

Kok has declared himself broadly in favour of Dehaene's suggestion, describing his statements as helpful, and Dutch Secretary of State for Health Els Borst said this week: “It is too early to say if the chance is there, but I do not see why not.”

Borst added: “The debate between the Netherlands and France has taken a positive turn. Dublin clarified personal relations between the leaders, and there is now agreement between EU countries that we can do a lot together.”

Nevertheless, she did stress that “some national policies can be different from one country to another”.

As yet, there has been no reaction from France.

Signs of a tougher approach by the Netherlands government towards outlets for soft drugs, with the closure of around 10&percent; of 'coffee shops' from 1995 to 1996, have also helped to ease tensions.

“I feel we have too many coffee shops in this country,” said Borst. “Drug tourism really does worry us. We should not have so many shops on our eastern and southern borders.”

These concessions, allied with a less vocal approach by France, could be enough to make the summit a reality.

A successful meeting is crucial not only to easing tensions in EU meetings, but also to the eventual removal by France of controls at its northern borders.

Despite belonging to the Schengen free-movement zone, France has maintained its frontier checks in a bid to avert an uncontrolled influx of narcotics from the Netherlands.

There were hints last December from French European Affairs Minister Michel Barnier that a relaxation of his country's stance was in the pipeline, although he gave no indication as to when that might happen.

The idea of holding a summit is likely to be discussed at the next informal meeting of justice and home affairs ministers, which will take place on 5 February in Noordwijk.

But despite signs of a thaw in Franco-Dutch relations, EU officials still fear that the newly-installed Dutch presidency could face a frosty new year in the field of justice and home affairs.

The negotiations on the joint action left a less than cordial atmosphere amongst high-level officials, and there are some worries that wounds opened by the issue have not yet healed.

“It is true that in the run-up to Dublin, the Dutch handling of the proposed joint action [on harmonising anti-drugs laws] did not endear its negotiators to the rest, especially France,” commented a diplomat. But he added: “This sort of thing happens. I do not think that it need spill too much into future work, or into non-drugs areas.”

The trouble is that on the issue of drugs, perhaps the most important area of EU justice cooperation, the Netherlands often finds itself out on a political limb.

Its liberal, health-based approach to prevention has few allies amongst senior Union politicians.

Despite that, The Hague will not shy away from drugs issues this year, according to a spokeswoman. Ministers have already agreed to discuss approaches to new synthetic drugs, which escape rigid legal definitions.