Public Hearing on Drug Policy in the European Union

UPDATE: This public hearing will be broadcasted live on the Internet on the following channels: GREEN MEDIA: http://greenmediabox.eu/live/ ECOGREENS.TV: LIVESTREAM->http://www.livestream.com/ecogreenstv ECOGREENS.TV: http://ecogreens.tv LE NOUVEAU 20 HEURES: http://lenouveau20h.blog-video.tv (on this channel it will be possible to send questions and comments that can be taken up by the moderators of the hearing. The purpose of the hearing is to formulate a set of recommendations concerning current drug policies and proposals to adopt alternative schemes, that are based upon the conclusions of the “Report on Global Illicit Drug Markets 1998 – 2007" (the Reuter-Trautmann report) of March 2009, as well as on the experiences and arguments brought forward by the participants. In March 2009, the European Commission presented the “Report on Global Illicit Drug Markets 1998 – 2007". This report contains a valuable database and conclusions that confirm those of other evaluation reports on drug policies in the EU of past years. These conclusions are that current policies are failing in their main objective, which is to reduce the demand and supply of illicit drugs, and that they are a crucial factor in generating and increasing harm to individual drug consumers, their direct surroundings and society at large. From March 8-12, 2010, the next annual meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs will be held in Vienna, Austria. At this meeting, the European Union representatives will defend common viewpoints on the future course of global drug policies. It is of essential importance that both European civil society organisations and Members of the European Parliament discuss the conclusions of the Reuter-Trautmann report and formulate recommendations to the EU delegation at the next CND meeting. We have formally requested the European Commission to organise (as was promised several times during 2009) the next session of the Civil Society Forum before the next session of the CND, so the CSF could be consulted on this report. As we did not receive any response from the Commission, we decided to organise a Public Hearing in the European Parliament. The programme of the hearing will be as follows: 10.00 - 12.00 Presentation of the Reuter-Trautmann report Introductory speeches by Mr. Michail Tremopoulos (MEP), Mr. Peter Reuter, co-author of the “Report on Global Illicit Drug Markets 1998 – 2007", Mr. Carel Edwards, head of the Drugs Coordination Unit of the European Commission, and Mr. Joep Oomen (ENCOD), followed by debate with the floor. 13.30 - 16.00 Roundtable with Members of European Parliament All participants are invited to give their feedback on the conclusions of the Reuter - Trautmann report and present their own input to the discussion on European drug policy.To this roundtable, various Members of European Parliament of the Committee on Civil Liberties will be invited to participate. 16.30 - 17.00 Press conference, presentation of the results of the hearing. Access to this hearing (which will be held in English only) is public and for free. If you wish to attend this hearing, it is necessary to register. Please copy the form that you find on http://www.encod.org/info/ENCOD-PROPOSES-NEW-SESSION-OF-THE.html and send it before February 15, 2010 by email to [email protected]. We cannot help you with travel costs, but we can advise you non-expensive accomodation. Please contact us with any questions, on [email protected].