Tag: EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs

EU – Western Balkans Dialogue on Drugs

Posted on by Milutin

The Dialogue between the European Union and the countries of the Western Balkans on drugs will be held on 25 May 2023 in Brussels. The European side is coordinated by the Swedish Presidency of the European Union. Representatives of the national drug agencies of the EU countries who cooperate within the Horizontal Drug Group (HDG), the body of the Council of the European Union responsible for leading and managing the work of the Council and the European Union on policy, will participate. The embassies of the countries of the Western Balkans to the European Union are invited to the Dialogue.

The Civil Society Forum on Drugs of the European Union (CSFD), an expert group at the European Commission consisting of 45 civil society organizations from all over Europe, representing a variety of fields of drug policy, and a variety of stances within those fields, prepared the document with information, views and recommendations of civil society. Several civil society organizations from the region participated in its preparation. DPNSEE, as a CSFD member organization, coordinated the collection of their contributions. The document has been sent to the Swedish EU Presidency and will be distributed to HDG members and embassies.

The CSFD document is available following this link>>>.

We hope that it will have an impact and contribute to better and coordinated partnerships and support to the region.

DPNSEE invited to Civil Society Forum on Drugs

Posted on by Milutin

The Drug Policy Network Youth East Europe was today formally informed that we have been selected as a member of the European Commission Expert Group – Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD) 2021-2023.

In February, the European Commission had opened the Call for applications for members of its expert group to completely renew membership for 2021-2023 mandate. We have applied as the network that gathers civil society organisations from all 11 countries of this region of Europe.

The Forum membership comprises 45 civil society organisations coming from across Europe and representing a variety of fields of drug policy, and a variety of stances within those fields.  Its purpose is to provide a broad platform for a structured dialogue between the Commission and the European civil society which supports drug policy formulation and implementation through practical advice.

We fell that this is a great acknowledgement of the work we did in the last 5 years and a promising opportunity to represent the region in this important EU body.

 

Call for CSFD members

Posted on by Milutin

European Commission has opened the Call for applications for members of its expert group the Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD). As the membership of the Group will be completely renewed for 2021-2023, the Commission is calling for applications with a view to selecting members of the group.

The Forum membership comprises 45 civil society organisations coming from across Europe and representing a variety of fields of drug policy, and a variety of stances within those fields.  Its purpose is to provide a broad platform for a structured dialogue between the Commission and the European civil society which supports drug policy formulation and implementation through practical advice.

Members shall be organisations in the broad sense of the word, including associations, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), trade unions, universities and research institutes, and other organisations, if relevant to EU drugs policy, and individuals appointed in a personal capacity.

The Call is available following this link>>>.

 

Make Drug Policy a Priority

Posted on by Milutin

Press Release

On 5 December 2019, the EU Civil Society Forum on Drugs (CSFD), an expert group of the European Commission, organized a seminar for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) entitled ‘The Future of European Drug Policy’.

The event comes at a time when the EU is facing significant challenges in tackling the illicit drug market. Despite the EU’s efforts to counter the drug problem, drug trafficking and production remain among the most profitable criminal activities in the region, while the health and social harms associated with drug use continue to rise, with more than 8.000 drug-related deaths reported in 2019. Drug-related issues affect millions of people within the EU, bringing with them complex health, security, social and criminal justice issues.

The expiry of the current European Drugs Strategy (2013 – 20) and Action Plan (2017 – 20) represent a key opportunity to be seized by the EU. It is a chance to review successes and failures of European drug policy and to build on the learnings and challenges from the last decade, by continuing to prioritize a drug policy approach grounded in the principles of public health and human rights.

However, civil society expressed concerns that the EU is failing to recognize the importance and cross-cutting nature of drug policy and is now deprioritizing the issue.

During the seminar, the CSFD urged MEPs to undertake the following actions: prioritize health challenges associated with drug use, uphold human rights above all, discuss ongoing debates and policy shifts associated with cannabis regulation, ensure that funding is allocated for drug-related projects beyond 2020 and consider creating an informal group of MEPs interested in European drug policy to track key developments in European drug policy.