Proposal for a Council Decision on the position to be adopted in the sixtieth session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on the scheduling of substances under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol and the Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971

The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) regularly amends the list of substances that are annexed to the United Nations (UN) Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol and to the UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971 on the basis of recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) which is advised by its Expert Committee on Drug Dependence. All EU Member States are signatories of the 1961 UN Convention and of the 1971 UN Convention. The Union itself is not a signatory of the conventions.

The CND is a commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and its functions and powers are inter alia set out in the 1961 UN Convention and in the 1971 UN Convention. It is made up of 53 UN Member States elected by ECOSOC. 12 EU Member States are currently members of the CND with the right to vote. The Union has an observer status in the CND.

The WHO recommended on 2 December 2016 to the Secretary General of the UN to add ten new substances to the schedules of the conventions. This will have direct repercussions for the scope of application of Union law in the area of drug control for all Member States. Article 1 of Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA of 25 October 2004 laying down minimum provisions on the constituent elements of criminal acts and penalties in the field of illicit drug trafficking states that, for the purposes of the Framework Decision, "drugs" shall mean any of the substances covered by either the 1961 UN Convention or by the 1971 UN Convention. Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA therefore applies to substances listed in the Schedules to the 1961 UN Convention and the 1971 UN Convention. Thus any change to the schedules annexed to these conventions directly affects common EU rules and alters their scope. This is irrespective of whether the substance in question is already placed under control at EU level.

It is necessary that Member States prepare for the meeting of the CND when it is called to decide on the scheduling of substances by reaching a common position in the Council. Such position, due to the limitations intrinsic to the observer status of the Union, should be expressed by the Member States that are currently members of the CND, acting jointly in the interest in the Union. To this end, the Commission is proposing a position to be adopted, on behalf of the European Union, in the sixtieth session of the CND taking place in Vienna from 13 to 17 March 2017 on the scheduling of substances under the 1961 UN Convention and the 1971 UN Convention.

EUR-Lex: COM(2017)72: Follow the progress of this proposal through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2017:072:FIN

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