Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse

and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs (Pompidou Group)

Activity Report 1997-2000

Ministerial Conference

Sintra (Portugal), 12-13 October 2000

Council of Europe, October 2000


Foreword

The Co-operation Group to Combat Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking in Drugs (Pompidou Group) is an inter-governmental body formed in 1971 following a proposal made by the late French President Georges Pompidou. Since 1980 it has carried out its activities within the framework of the Council of Europe. On the basis of priorities agreed by ministers every three years, the Group provides a multi-disciplinary forum at European level for policy-makers, professionals and experts to co-operate and exchange information.

At the last Ministerial Conference in Tromsø, Norway, on 15-16 May 1997, ministers adopted a Political Declaration and a new work programme for the Group for the period 1997-2000.

The principal purpose of this activity report is to give an account to ministers of the action undertaken by the Group since the Tromsø Conference to implement the mandate they adopted there. It describes what action the Pompidou Group has undertaken, the resources mobilised, its results, the problems it has encountered, as well as the impact the Group has had at national level. Looking to the future of the Pompidou Group, the appendix includes a report on the modernisation of the Group’s objectives, structure and approaches, designed to ensure the continued relevance and effectiveness of the Group’s action in the changing world of a new millennium.


Contents

1.         Introduction and overview of main features.............................................................. 4

1.1          Membership.................................................................................................................... 4

1.2          Principal achievements.................................................................................................... 5

1.3          Resources and institutional issues.................................................................................... 5

1.4          Problems........................................................................................................................ 5

2.         Review of the role and functioning of the Pompidou Group................................... 7

3.         Work Programme activities.......................................................................................... 8

3.1          New trends in drug abuse................................................................................................. 8

3.2          Preventing recourse to drugs and providing information to the general public..................... 9

3.3          Therapy and care........................................................................................................... 10

3.4          Rehabilitation, reintegration, workplace issues................................................................. 11

3.5          Reduction of harm to individuals and society.................................................................. 11

3.6          Epidemiology and statistics........................................................................................... 12

3.7          Criminal justice issues.................................................................................................... 14

3.8          Anti-trafficking measures................................................................................................ 15

3.9          Control measures for narcotic drugs, precursors, essential chemicals and

              psychotropic substances............................................................................................... 16

3.10        Costs of drug abuse...................................................................................................... 17

3.11        Regional and sub-regional co-operation.......................................................................... 17

3.12        Training 19

3.13        Research....................................................................................................................... 21

4.         Assessing the impact of Pompidou Group activities at national level................. 22

5.         External relations and co-operation with other organisations.............................. 24

5.1          Co-operation agreements and other consultation mechanisms.......................................... 24

5.2          Participation in meetings of other bodies........................................................................ 24

6.         Resources.................................................................................................................... 29

6.1          Budgets........................................................................................................................ 29

6.2          Staffing............................................................................................................................      31

7.         Visibility, publications................................................................................................. 31

Appendix:

            Report on the modernisation of the Pompidou Group........................................... 34


1.         Introduction and overview of main features

Since the Ministerial meeting of May 1997 the Pompidou Group has functioned under Portuguese chairmanship.  The technical activities are described below in section 3, according to the structure of the Work Programme adopted by ministers.

These three years have been marked by a continued emphasis on the Group’s co-operation with both its newer member States and non-member States from central and eastern Europe.  Two new members have joined the Group and participation from the CEEC has been important in many of the technical activities.  These countries have also been the focus of the two main technical assistance programmes undertaken.  In addition, a new initiative has been launched to create co-operation with non-member States around the Mediterranean.

The general level of activity has again shown a significant increase over the previous work programme period.  This has not been without problems since although financial and staff resources have increased somewhat, this has not reflected the level of activity.  The continued support from some countries in the form of voluntary contributions for specific activities has been particularly welcomed.

An important initiative to deal with these trends has been the instigation of a review of the role and functioning of the Pompidou Group, the final report on which is annexed to this activity report.  Similar functional reviews have been carried out for specific areas such as Epidemiology and the Fellowship scheme.

Improving the dissemination of the results of the Group’s work and its visibility in general has been a constant concern over these three years.  A particular effort has also been made to improve co-operation with other international bodies active in the field.

1.1       Membership

Estonia joined the Pompidou Group on 1 July 1998,  the Russian Federation on 18 May 1999 and Iceland on 1 September 2000.  This brings membership up to 32 countries.  Following contacts with the government of Azerbaijan, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe issued in March 2000 an invitation to that country to join the Pompidou Group.  Confirmation of acceptance has not yet been received. 

Discussions have also been held with Georgia, Latvia and Ukraine about their possible accession to the Group but internal procedures in these countries are still underway.

Following a request from the Holy See, Permanent Correspondents have also agreed to extend invitations for them to attend various activities as observers.


1.2       Principal achievements

The first Demand Reduction Staff Training Programme, although carried out principally in the previous Work Programme period, terminated in March 1998.  The outcome evaluation conference showed a high level of attainment of objectives and a considerable degree of satisfaction on the part of the target countries.  As a consequence, a new three-year programme for the same countries was finally launched in April 1999.  A second epidemiology training programme for six countries in conjunction with UNDCP is now nearing completion and follows a successful first project which was completed in 1997.

The Pompidou Group Prevention handbook has been well received and the interest in its use is demonstrated by the continuing demands to translate it into national languages.

A number of seminars addressing new areas of concern have been particularly successful: for example on Vocational Rehabilitation, Road Traffic and Drugs, and on Attention Deficit/Hyperkinetic Disorders.

A standard Treatment Demand Reporting Protocol, based on the Group’s work over several years has now been agreed between the Pompidou Group and the EMCDDA for use nationally in European Union countries and at city level within the Pompidou Group.

1.3       Resources and institutional issues

Following restructure of the Council of Europe, the Secretariat of the Pompidou Group Partial Agreement is now a department within the Directorate General III: Social Cohesion, Directorate of Social Affairs and Health.

The general budget of the Pompidou Group has shown a 30% increase between 1997 and 2000, half of this in the first year of the new programme.  At the same time voluntary contributions for specific activities and for supporting participation of experts from the CEEC in Pompidou Group activities have continued to be an important feature.  The contributions for CEEC participation have, however, been at a much lower level than in the early 1990s and accumulated surpluses have now been exhausted so that, without significant new contributions, the possibilities to support such participation will be severely reduced in the future. 

The current staffing of the department is nine permanent and five temporary or programme-related posts.  This represents an increase of 3 temporary posts compared with the previous period.

1.4       Problems

As stated above, despite the increase in resources, this has not been sufficient to permit the full execution of the ambitious Work Programme adopted in 1997.  The increase in the level of international activity generally on drugs and the calls of the various international bodies on member Governments and their key personnel has been making the organisation of major conferences increasingly difficult.  Participation at a number of such events has been lower and less balanced than in the past, with the possible exception of meetings addressing genuinely new areas of concern where the Pompidou Group has been able to offer a unique opportunity for specialists to discuss specific problems.

Increasing membership and a relatively high turnover of Permanent Correspondents and Secretariat staff has meant specific efforts have been necessary to maintain a coherent view of Pompidou Group objectives and activities.  A need has become apparent to define better the targets for information dissemination on the work of the Pompidou Group in an effort to maximise the benefits from its work and translate results into concrete action at national and local level.  Except for specialised scientific circles, the availability of Pompidou Group material in only the two official languages creates a barrier to its greater utilisation by grass roots workers.


2.         Review of the role and functioning of the Pompidou Group

An important feature of the Pompidou Group has always been its relatively flexible and informal methods of working.  Both the basic terms of reference of the Group and its working methods have essentially remained unchanged since its attachment to the Council of Europe in 1980, and indeed since its creation in 1971.  However, since 1980 membership has increased from eight to thirty-one countries, the Secretariat from three to fourteen staff members and the level of activity has been multiplied several times over.  At the same time, there have been significant changes in the nature and extent of drug abuse problems which the Group has had to address and significant increase in the number of other international bodies active in the field.  It therefore has seemed particularly appropriate to undertake a thorough review of the role and functioning of the Group to adapt its action to the changing realities.

Based on initial proposals by the Permanent Correspondent of the Netherlands, a Working Group of nine Permanent Correspondents plus the European Commission carried out a review of these issues and submitted a report which was amended and then adopted by Permanent Correspondents.  This report is appended to the present activity report and is submitted for approval to ministers.  It reviews the core tasks of the Group, its structure, the planning, implementation and management of activities and the dissemination of results, and financial issues.

Much of the report is concerned with clarification and codification of practices which have evolved flexibly over the years in response to changing situations.  The main new elements concern:

-                     a slight extension of the field of investigation to allow consideration of abuse of licit substances where there are clear links with the core concern of illicit drug use;

-                     a restructuring of meetings of Permanent Correspondents, and an increased focus of their discussions on policy issues;

-                     a strengthening of the role of Permanent Correspondents in the management of technical activities and the creation of a vice-Chairmanship and co-ordinators for the four activity sectors of the new Programme.

The report also proposes use of a consultant to evaluate recent action taken to improve the dissemination of the results and instruments of the Group and the visibility of the Pompidou Group as a whole.  Permanent Correspondents have already started to implement those aspects of the report which relate purely to their internal management functions.


3.         Work Programme activities[1]

3.1         New trends in drug abuse

In addition to specific issues dealt with under the headings below, and taking account of the complexity of the phenomenon, the Group will establish an integrated cross-sector review of issues related to the changing drug scene. This will stress the need for the timely monitoring of new trends, whether substances, particularly those used outside traditional drug cultures, user population characteristics, routes of administration, or social and health consequences. Analysis of the cultural influences under which these trends develop and the promotion of information exchange on service responses will also be undertaken.

Drug use in the youth leisure scene

The main action in this field was a seminar on Ecstasy and other Drugs consumed in Discotheques and Other Places of Leisure, held in San Marino on 26 & 27 March 1998 and chaired by the San Marino Permanent Correspondent.  The objective of the seminar was to examine:

-                     the social and cultural aspects of this type of drug use;

-                     problems of regulation of discotheques;

-                     preventive action;

-                     public health problems.

Discussions were based on a general introductory report by a consultant, Ms Spruit and reports from representatives of UNDCP, WHO and EMCDDA.  Eighty experts from twenty-four member countries attended and included representatives of the managers of discotheques alongside professionals and policy makers.  The presence of the non-governmental representatives was particularly valuable.  There was considerable media coverage of the seminar.

The seminar conclusions pointed to the need for further research as to the nature of this type of drug use, long-term health and social consequences and preventive action adapted to the youth culture.

Six specific projects for follow-up work were developed.  After surveying activities underway or proposed in various other organisations, it was agreed to undertake further work to produce guidelines for local authorities, police and discotheque managers and to look at the targeting of intervention strategies.  It has not yet been possible to devote resources to this follow-up action.


            Non-sports use of banned substances

The Pompidou Group delegated two representatives to take part in a multidisciplinary Work Group on the Use of Doping Substances outside Competitive Sport and commissioned a consultant study containing a literature review on prevalence, history and effects of the use of anabolic steroids in particular.  This was supplemented by a key informant survey in nine countries.  The activity had originated in the Monitoring Group of the Anti-Doping Convention which also delegated two participants along with the Partial Agreement of the Social and Public Health Field.

The Working Group reviewed the situation in Europe and recommended that a Council of Europe activity be undertaken to examine further possibilities for international action in this field.  No existing Council of Europe committee has clear competence for such a multidisciplinary activity and to date it has not proved possible to include a proposal for such action within the Council of Europe budget.  The Pompidou Group remains available to participate in any such multidisciplinary action.

3.2         Preventing recourse to drugs and providing information to the general public

Among the issues to be examined are access to reliable information on drug issues for populations already faced with these phenomena, innovative media campaigns aimed at specific phenomena or target groups, primary prevention strategies concerning in particular school age children, targeted prevention interventions for certain specific groups and prevention approaches applicable to emerging drug abuse phenomena. The current efforts to codify effective prevention strategies and disseminate the information to policy planners and programme implementers will be further developed.

A small working group was held in June 1998 to plan all activities under this sector and sectors 3 and 5 below.

            Handbook on Prevention

The final project meeting took place in October 1997 and the finalised handbook prepared by Dutch consultants, with financial support of the Dutch government and pilot tested by the Group, has been published in English and French and given wide dissemination.  Initial reactions of grass-root workers to the handbook have been extremely positive.

Sub-licensing agreements are being established to allow various countries to translate and publish the handbook in their national language.  The Greek, Finnish, Norwegian and Polish versions have appeared.  Work is underway on Italian, Slovak, and Portuguese versions and the possibility of German, Turkish and Slovenian translations is under consideration.  A Russian language version would be particularly useful but resources have not yet been found for this.  The French and English versions can now be downloaded on the Pompidou Group website.


            Outreach work among young drug users

A consultant has been contracted to produce a manual for city administrators, professionals and NGOs working in the field of drug prevention and treatment, focusing on general outreach work amongst young drug users at an early stage of their drug careers.  The objective is to revive a long-standing aim of outreach work to address this community rather than the HIV prevention objectives of much current outreach work.  The handbook will be completed in 2000 and has been financed by an earmarked contribution from Norway.

            Minorities and Roma/Gypsies

The consultant report on minorities completed at the end of the previous work programme has been published.  As a follow-up a proposal was considered and discussed with specialised Council of Europe committees dealing with Roma issues, for compilation of viable initiatives and preparation of a handbook on prevention interventions with, an in association with, Roma gypsy communities.  In the light of activities underway in other organisations, it has been considered appropriate to await the results of such parallel action before undertaking work in this respect.

3.3         Therapy and care

Examination of therapy and care for drug abusers will concentrate on the adaptation of services to developing needs in the context of a requirement to ensure effectiveness and quality of services. Building on existing work, specific attention will be given to the integration of services into the community, especially locally-based, multidisciplinary initiatives involving the voluntary sector, to early intervention strategies, to women’s issues, to services for young groups and children of drug abusers and to programmes for stimulant abusers. Research activities in connection particularly with innovative practices will be encouraged and training implications considered.

The resources available during the Work Programme period have meant that activities have mainly been limited to developing areas where the Pompidou Group has existing experience.

            Women and Drug Abuse

A consultant report has been produced on “Problem Drug Use by Women: Focus on Community Based Interventions”.  This is a survey of projects of proven value, particularly those involving women’s groups in their management, from which guidelines can be drawn for development of good practice.  The report has been published and made available on the website.  In a related activity, EMCDDA is now undertaking a study on the patterns of women’s help seeking and service-use, and the results from the two organisations will be made into a joint publication.

            Pregnancy and Drug Misuse

A second seminar on Pregnancy and Drug Misuse was held in May 2000.  The main objectives were to examine the current situation concerning care for pregnancy drug misusers and evaluate progress since the 1997 seminar, make proposals to improve services.  Thirty-two participants from twenty countries, including observers from the Holy See and Israel attended.  The seminar was chaired by Dr Fischer (Austria) who presented a literature review and a state of the current situation.

The main conclusions concern improving access to substitution treatment and the psycho-socio-educative care for pregnant drug users including emphasising outreach work.  The need to evaluate training programmes for professionals was also stressed.  The proceedings of the seminar are in the course of publication.

            Compulsory treatment

A proposal was considered to contract a consultant to investigate current use of compulsory treatment for drug users in relation to the justice system.  It became known that WHO was organising a meeting with the Russian Ministry of Health for various CIS countries on the subject of compulsory treatment of alcohol and drug users in general and as a result the Pompidou Group preferred to contribute presentations from three experts to this seminar.  A publication is envisaged by WHO from the material presented at this seminar and any further Pompidou Group work will await the results of this.

3.4         Rehabilitation, reintegration, workplace issues

The reintegration of drug abusers into the community is an important aspect of the long-term strategy for dealing with these individuals which has received insufficient attention in recent times. In addition to community-based rehabilitation programmes as such, attention will be given to issues such as access to housing, employment opportunities and other social services.

Work in this field has been limited to the issue of vocational rehabilitation of drug users.  A seminar on this issue was held on 24-25 January 2000 in Bratislava, chaired by the Slovak Permanent Correspondent.  Sixty-four from sixteen countries attended.

The objectives were to evaluate the current state of vocational rehabilitation and to describe the most pertinent projects currently running.  The seminar discussions were in particular based on a major consultant report by a team around Professor Uchtenhagen (Switzerland).  The main conclusions stress the need for all countries to develop further vocational rehabilitation programmes which take greater account of the needs and capabilities of drug misusers, call for preparation of guidelines on methodology and good practice and point to the importance of establishing networks between professionals and other workers.  The basic study and the seminar proceedings are being published.

Whilst the seminar, which addressed a little studied subject, was considered very valuable by participants, the limited number of countries participating reduced the value of the experience and networking on offer.

3.5         Reduction of harm to individuals and society

Continued consideration will be given to innovative risk-reduction strategies, targeting, amongst other things, HIV transmission within both high and low prevalence populations, and transmission of hepatitis and other infectious diseases. New work will be undertaken to explore the relation between drug abuse and road traffic accidents ; this will include investigation of the situation, legislation, control methods and preventive interventions.


Road Traffic and Drugs

A seminar was held on 19-21 April 1999, chaired by Mr Gillard (Belgium), and prepared by a group of seven countries together with representatives of the European Commission and EMCDDA.  The main objective was to establish a state of the art in this field which has not been addressed by any major intergovernmental conferences.  Consideration was given in particular to legal aspects, practical aspects of law enforcement and detection, prevalence, epidemiology and risk assessment, and prevention and rehabilitation.  Major consultant reports by Dr De Gier (Netherlands) on the prevalence of illicit drugs in road traffic in thirteen countries and Professor Krüger (Germany) on legal provisions and difficulties faced by police in twelve countries form the main basis for discussions.

Seventy-five experts from twenty-four member and three non-member countries plus the USA, the European Commission, EMCDDA, the International Council on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety and the European Road Safety Federation attended the seminar.  The conclusions and recommendations set out a long list of research and co-operation needs in this field.  The lack of knowledge and in-depth research is clearly apparent if appropriate organisational and legislative measures are to be taken.

The proceedings have been published and the results of the seminar presented at a conference organised in May 1999 by the “Deutsche Hauptstelle für Suchtgefahren (DHS), at the 15the conference of the ICADTS in May 2000 and at the “International Conference on Traffic and Transport Psychology (ICTTP), Bern, September 2000.

            HIV prevention and risk reduction for IVDU’s

Consultants were contracted to produce a handbook giving practical advice on the running of programmes which would supplement the basic guidelines for outreach work in these groups, published by the Pompidou Group and which have proved extremely useful in many countries of central and eastern Europe.  Due to unforeseen events, the consultants were unable to complete the work within the 1999 annual budget framework for which they were contracted and it has not been possible to renew their contract for this work within the year 2000 budget.  The need for such a handbook still seems to exist.

3.6         Epidemiology and statistics

The work carried out in this field since 1982 will be progressively re-directed in the light in particular of the programmes of the various specialised bodies. Continued monitoring through the city network will be accompanied by development work and pilot-testing of new methodologies and instruments, by a new emphasis on qualitative research and by the extension of the training function of the epidemiology group to new countries. Instruments to monitor new trends in drug abuse will be a specific priority. The Group will also pay chose attention to improving the dissemination of the results obtained.

This field has long been a priority for the Pompidou Group and is supported by a special budget funded by voluntary contributions.  A review of the objectives and functioning of the Epidemiology committee was carried out in the light of the terms of reference arising from the 1997 Ministerial Conference.  This resulted in a single plenary meeting per year, accompanied by specific project meetings whose co-ordinators would meet around the time traditionally used for a second annual meeting in the margins of various project meetings.  A number of measures such as peer review of project proposals and results were introduced to improve the scientific quality of the work.  As a result of the new objectives, annual reporting at national level on prevalence and research was terminated with the 1998 reports and 1997 data.

Annual city reporting has continued and a synthesis of data for 1991 to 1998 is in print covering twenty-six cities and current profiles of thirty cities.  This publication has been delayed because of the sheer weight of analytical work necessary with the wider city network.  Revised guidelines have been introduced to standardise further reporting and simplify analysis of data, and new and analytical tools introduced.  A feature of the city reports is the quality of those now being produced by newer member States of the CEEC.  At the same time, a number of traditional, western cities have found it hard to maintain their participation, and the fact that there is no direct financial support for the data collectors continues to be a problem.

Reporting of treatment demand has continued annually and an analysis of trend data from twenty-three cities for 1996-1997 was published in 1999.  The EMCDDA and the Pompidou Group have worked together to produce an agreed common protocol for collection of treatment data to be used at national level by the EU countries and at city level by the Pompidou Group.  In addition, a pilot study in eight CEEC has been carried out to evaluate the possibility for newer member states to extend reporting to the national level.

The Pompidou Group has continued to support the ESPAD school surveys, providing funding for international co-ordination meetings.  The results of the new study on 1999 data from thirty countries have been analysed by the group led by CAN (Sweden) and will be published in February 2001.

Specific pilot studies have been carried out on:

-                          drug use by prisoners. This examined the impact of prison on drug use and the continuity of care within prison in eleven countries.

-             A discharge from treatment form. This has been piloted by fifteen cities in six countries and shows feasibility in collecting core data on clients’ situations at the time of exit from treatment.

Training activities have included annual seminars on drug abuse epidemiology topics for the ten city Russian network and a specific epidemiology seminar in Romania (1998).  Study visits on statistical methodology are being organised for one expert from each of the Russian cities.

A second major programme has been the joint PG/UNDCP programme 1997-2000 to extend the multi-city methodology to Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovak Republic and Slovenia.  This is the second project for these countries and has focussed on strengthening the systems for city reporting and commissioning a qualitative research project in each country which must relate to the development of prevention activities.  The project has proved more complicated than the first one which concerned only city-based reporting, mainly because the objectives were more ambitious.  As a result, completion has been delayed but the evaluation conference has finally been held in September 2000.  Reports from the country projects will be published.


3.7         Criminal justice issues

New work will be developed in a multidisciplinary context concerning the handling of drug-abusing offenders by the criminal justice system. This will stress the study of the relationship between drug abuse and delinquency, interventions prior to sentencing and the services available to courts in applying penal and non-penal sanctions, with special reference to non-addicted drug-using offenders. Aspects of controlling drug abuse in prison will be examined to the extent that these are not covered by other organisations. Problems arising in the application of new legislation will also be considered. Co-operation between the justice system and other services (social, health, etc) will be a major underlying preoccupation in all these areas.

Work in this area has built on several previous Pompidou Group multi-disciplinary activities over several years and has comprised two seminars bringing together administrators, professionals from the criminal justice system and social and health service professionals to examine the functioning of the CJS in respect of drug misusing offenders at different points of the procedures.

            Drug-misusing offenders and the criminal justice system (up to and including sentencing)

The objective of this seminar, held on 12-14 October 1998, was to provide an exchange of experience between decision makers and practitioners, in a multidisciplinary perspective, and identify the fields in which greater European co-operation was necessary.  The seminar looked at first contact of offenders with the CJS, alternatives to prosecution, alternatives to imprisonment, and the role of social and health services and defence counsels in avoiding prison sentences.

There were sixty participants from twenty-two countries (seven of them CEEC), the European Commission and EMCDDA.  The conclusions stress the value of diversified measures to avoid prosecution and imprisonment, with the police role in preventive activities when combined with other services, and the possibilities of the penal system to motivate drug users to enter treatment.  Training needs were also stressed.  The proceedings have been published.

            Drug misusing offenders in prison and after release

The objectives of this seminar, held on 4-6 October 1999, were to exchange views and information on the treatment of drug misusing offenders in prison and after release, to set out the types and extent of action possible inside and outside prison, including new developments not yet fully validated, and to identify areas for greater European co-operation.  The Epidemiology Group’s survey of drug use by prisoners was presented in preliminary form and a special survey of programmes in prison undertaken by a consultant, Mr Turnbull (UK).  In addition to care programmes, the issue of testing was discussed.

Sixty participants from twenty-eight countries, the European Commission, EMCDDA and WHO European Office attended.  The proceedings of the conference have been published and the main conclusions were presented to the 1999 meeting of WHO’s “Health in Prisons” project.  As a consequence the Pompidou Group will be co-operating in the HIPP’s 2001 conference which will focus specifically on the health issues related to drug problems in prison.  Co-operation has also taken place with the Council of Europe’s Legal Directorate which has organised conferences on prison issues within the framework of the ADACS programme.


3.8         Anti-trafficking measures

Consideration of operational measures nationally and internationally will continue to focus on the inter-agency co-operation between law enforcement and customs agencies in specific situations. The airports network will be extended, and the scope for possible collaboration with source countries considered. Exploratory work will be carried out in areas such as sea, river and canal ports and land border crossings in order to identify potential new problems or opportunities for intensified and improved co-operation. A review of national and international coordination mechanisms including intelligence sharing and recourse to techniques such as controlled delivery will be carried out with a view to ensuring that proven experience is disseminated throughout the European region.

Airports Group

The annual meetings of the Co-operation Group of Drug Control Services in European Airports, which date from 1986, have been continued with meetings in Istanbul (1997), Prague (1998), Strasbourg (1999) and Bad Waltersdorf (2000).  These meetings regularly bring together some seventy to ninety participants from around thirty countries, including twelve CEEC, together with the European Commission and specialised organisations such as Interpol, Europol and the World Customs Organisation.  An important feature is the presence of both police and customs officers working directly in the airports.

The objectives are essentially to exchange information on trafficking trends and counter measures and to improve networking between the different airports.  Each year a report is prepared on airport seizures and in 2000 this has been taken over by the Regional Intelligence Liaison Officer for Western Europe of WCO who have improved further the scope and depth of analysis by drawing on their own database and that of Interpol in addition to national reporting.  The brochure of contact points in the airports has proved useful when setting up controlled deliveries and a number of important issues around risk analysis and profiling in airports have been discussed.  A specific operation on controlling air freight will be undertaken.

            General aviation

The risks of trafficking from general aviation have received much less attention than commercial aviation and in many countries few resources are allocated to this risk.  Specific consideration of general aviation has been developed in the margins of the Airports meetings by a significant group of countries and a separate seminar was devoted to the theme in March 1998 at which participation included Eurocontrol, IAOPA and the Drug Enforcement Administration of the USA.  A major objective of the work is to raise awareness of the risks and also to provide guidance on control methodologies drawing on this small group of countries which have real experience.

The results have included a risk assessment carried out in Iceland in 1997 and a three-week co-ordinated control operation focusing on transit traffic through Santa Maria (Azores) in spring 1998.  A list of national contact points on general aviation has been drawn up and an annual survey was carried out on seizures.  A handbook on organising and carrying out checks on general aviation, prepared by the French services, will be published before the end of 2000.


3.9         Control measures for narcotic drugs, precursors, essential chemicals and psychotropic substances

The implementation of control measures under the 1961, 1971, and 1988 Conventions will be kept under review. Issues to be addressed include the regime applied to narcotics in specific cases such as test kits, controls on diversion of psychotropic substances from industry, commerce and pharmacies, as well as measures to reinforce the effectiveness of controls on precursors and essential chemicals. Special attention will be given to the trend for illicit producers of synthetic drugs to diversify the chemicals they use as controls on existing sources become effective. Voluntary contracts, information exchange and co-operation with industry will be stressed.

Work in this field has concentrated on continuation of the seminars organised jointly with INCB on issues relating to implementation of the 1971 UN Convention.

            Joint INCB/PG Conference on Control of Psychotropic Substances

The objectives of this conference, held in December 1998, were to examine recent trends in psychotropic substance abuse, diversion of substances from traditional distribution channels and measures to be taken by governments and international organisations.  A particular focus was the use of internet to facilitate individuals’ acquisition of psychotropic substances.

Fifty-four participants from twenty-seven member countries and nine non-member countries attended along with the United States, Interpol, UNDCP, WHO, WCO, EMCDDA and EU-Phare.  The recommendations concern notification procedures to the UN, emergency scheduling mechanisms, regular evaluation of a firm’s internal procedures to reduce diversions and increased exchanges between national regulatory bodies and law enforcement services and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry and trade.  The conference also proposed that the Pompidou Group organise specific meetings on attention-deficit disorders and benzodiazepine misuse.

            Diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperkinetic disorders and their treatment with stimulants

The objectives of the conference held in December 1999 were to exchange experience on ADHD diagnostic criteria and policies concerning prescription of stimulants for its treatment in Europe and produce a preliminary evaluation of the situation, as well as to deal with the issue of health risk assessment and measures to be taken in order to avoid abuse of these substances.  The meeting was organised jointly with WHO who arranged for important contributions to be made from outside Europe, in particular the USA which has considerable experience in this field.

Participants came from the sixteen European states most concerned with this issue and although the group was small, it contained most of the acknowledged European experts in this field.  The recommendations concern diagnosis and treatment, education and training, policy and regulation, and above all, the major research needs still apparent in this field.  A principle concern was to improve the availability of proven medication and the quality of service delivery whilst avoiding stimulant abuse and diversion to the illicit market.  The conclusions and the two major European studies commissioned have been published.


            Other activities

Preparatory work for a meeting in January 2001 on benzodiazepines has been undertaken.  In view of the activities undertaken in other organisations on precursor and essential chemical controls, no specific action has been undertaken in this area other than that carried out by the Airports Group (see above).

3.10      Costs of drug abuse

In addition to concern throughout its programme for the analysis of the effectiveness of service interventions, the Group will seek to promote the overall evaluation of drug policies and programmes as well as research designed to improve knowledge of the costs to society of drug abuse, the public health costs, the cost effectiveness of interventions and the return on investment in areas such as care services. It will act as a forum for the exchange of information and experience in these areas between the administrations of member States and between researchers and administrations.

The objective of this activity is to prepare a practical methodological guide for estimating social costs of drug abuse by the cost of illness/human capital approach and to pilot test the methodology.  A consultant, P Kopp (France) has prepared a draft guide and a pilot study is now underway in Poland with completion expected by end 2000.  The revised guide will then be made available to countries wishing to carry out such studies.  The activity is being carried out in collaboration with EMCDDA which foresees similar studies in certain EU countries in 2001  The work is financed by a specific contribution from Switzerland.

An additional aspect of the work has been the exchange established with a small network of countries under Canadian leadership which are promoting the social costs methodology worldwide and the Pompidou Group attends the periodic international meetings to update the network on European aspects.

3.11      Regional and sub-regional co-operation

The Group will continue to participate, through Council of Europe programmes and specific projects involving outside funding, to the international effort to make expertise in the legislative and programme development fields available to countries wishing to improve the effectiveness of national systems to deal with illicit drug abuse and trafficking. It will also continue to keep under review the workings of the international drug control mechanisms at European level and contribute to the worldwide effort in this respect. It will promote coordination efforts in sub-regional fora, including promoting new initiatives in the Mediterranean region.

Mediterranean region

The lack of networking between professional demand reduction and epidemiology professionals in the Mediterranean region led Malta to put forward a proposal for the Pompidou Group to hold a technical conference to examine the demand reduction situation in countries around the Mediterranean.  This conference was held in Malta in November 1999 and had as a main aim to provide a basis for the creation of professional networks in which initiatives could be developed on routine data collection, cross-national studies taking account of the cultural milieu, making full use of treatment services within the region, and improving the training of drug-related professional from the region.

The meeting was attended by thirty-two participants from twenty countries, including all the non-member countries bordering the Mediterranean with the exception of Syria and the Palestinian authorities.  Participants include psychiatrists, statisticians, medical sociologists and representatives of ministerial structures.

A simple rapid assessment survey of the drug situation in the Mediterranean was carried out on a questionnaire basis to set the scene.  The conference showed a strong willingness to undertake co-operative activities within the region.  As a result proposals have been drawn up to continue the network (annual conferences) and to carry out more detailed surveys using rapid assessment techniques and questionnaire-based investigation of demand reduction services and policy aspects.  A website for the network is under construction where information can be exchanged on research and professional activities within the region.  Experts from the network were invited to the Spring 2000 PG Epidemiology meeting to continue planning of further activities.  Small project groups have now been carried out to devise the key informants/rapid assessment survey, a co-ordinated school survey and other projects related to the demand reduction service aspects.

Co-operation has been actively sought with UNDCP, WHO, the European Commission and EMCDDA.  There is a very strong demand for development of these activities, but their successful prosecution will depend on significant financing being found along with institutional arrangements which ensure permanent secretariat support for the network.

            Central and eastern Europe

A number of technical assistance type seminars have been carried out by Pompidou Group experts within the framework of the Council of Europe’s ADACS programme which focuses mainly on the newer member States and potential European candidate States.  These have included:

-           Seminar on drug misusers and the criminal justice system,

Bratislava, 28-30 April 1997;

-           Training seminar on applied epidemiology of drug misuse and drug treatment reporting systems,

Moscow, 20-22 October 1997;

-           Seminar on qualitative research: reaching and researching non-treatment populations,

Warsaw, 5-7 November 1997;

-           Consultancy: Outreach on HIV/AIDS in "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia",

24 November - 6 December 1997;

-           Training seminar on reaching and researching non-treatment populations of drug users,

Bucharest, 18-20 May 1998;

-           Training seminar on School Surveys,

Moscow, 29 June - 1 July 1998;


-           Consultancy on Outreach: Drugs and HIV/AIDS in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo, Foinica, Banja Luka,

6-10 December 1998;

-           Seminar on "HIV prevention and care among injecting drug users",

Chisinau, 7_9 December 1998;

-           Study visits for Russian experts to Warsaw and London on statistical analysis in the field of epidemiology of drug abuse;

-           Follow-up training seminar: a comprehensive approach of epidemiology,

Moscow, 27-29 September 1999;

-           Seminar: "Treatment and care for HIV positive drug users and patients developing AIDS",

Moscow, 18-20 October 1999;

-           Seminar on different European experiences in fighting drug misuse, Zagreb,

2 and 3 December 1999;

-           Seminar on "Women and Drugs",

Moscow, 29 November–1 December 1999.

3.12      Training

Building on its current training project for demand reduction professionals, the Group will seek to promote training activities, including training of trainers, across the region and the making available of training materials. It will continue to develop its own fellowship scheme.

As will have been seen, training issues have formed an important focus on a number of the activities set out above, in particular in field 6.  This section deals with three specific programmes.

Demand Reduction Staff Training Programme I

This programme, carried out from 1994 to 1998, was financed principally by the EU/Phare programme, Norway and Sweden.  Although essentially a product of the previous work programme period, the outcome and evaluation meetings were carried out in the present period and so the results are mentioned here.

The programme was aimed at Albania, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic and Slovenia.  It carried out multidisciplinary training in selected demand reduction areas.  It trained twenty-four policy makers and thirty-six key professionals who then organised national training seminars based on their experiences.  Some 1700 people were thus involved at some stage of the programme.  The evaluation was extremely positive and a major factor was the democratic, demand driven approach to meeting the specific needs of the participating countries.


A further benefit was found from exchanges in the Management Committee formed not only of the major donor countries but also other international organisations such as UNDCP, WHO and ILO with experience of similar international programmes.  The exchange between organisations on programmes and methodologies was very worthwhile.  The evaluation conference strongly proposed a folllow-up programme.

            Demand Reduction Staff Training Programme II

This is a direct result of the first programme and has as objective to support the development of sustainable national multidisciplinary staff training in demand reduction in the same twelve countries.  Under the programme, national project teams assisted by selected consultants will draft curricula for training programmes addressing particular sectors or groups of professionals.  In most cases, implementation of the curricula so developed will be linked to existing training structures to ensure sustainability of the efforts put into the project.

The programme is financed by Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the UK.   Most of these sit on the Management Committee together with two target countries and the same international organisations as DRSTP I.  The programme is due for completion in Spring 2002.

Fellowships

The Fellowship scheme, which has been running for many years, provides grants to support study visits of around two to three weeks by professionals and researchers of member States wishing to gain experience or carry out studies of programmes in other countries.  The regulations governing the scheme and the candidate form were revised in 1997 to provide a better basis for selecting candidates and ensure that they had the necessary skills (professional and linguistic) to make effective use of the Fellowship.  The number of Fellowships awarded each year has increased slightly with the expansion of the group and in 2000 concerns twenty-four persons.  The number of candidatures considerably exceeds the number of places available.  Nineteen countries have provided Fellowship holders over the last four years, between 40% and 60% now coming from the CEEC.  Although sixteen countries have received Fellowship holders over the same period, a very large proportion of the visits are concentrated in a limited number of countries (particularly Netherlands and UK).  This produces a considerable burden on the countries and a diversification of destinations is actively being promoted.  Around two thirds of the Fellowships concern treatment and care but criminal justice and general policy issues have become a centre of interest in recent years.


3.13      Research

The need for a more intensive research effort across all areas concerning illicit drugs is recognised. The Group will seek to support initiatives in Europe to achieve better coordination of national research activities, easier access to research findings (particularly for countries not covered by EU initiatives in this respect) and on improved interconnection between research findings and policy formulation.

Various activities under other fields, in particular 1, 3, 6 and 10 have a research element.  The only specific action in respect of national research programmes has been an agreement by Permanent Correspondents to exchange annually in their meetings information on the most significant research projects recently completed in their countries.  The intergovernmental framework of the Pompidou Group and its financing mechanisms do not lend themselves to the promotion or commissioning of new research by teams within the member countries and without a significant in-house research capacity it is also difficult to make a claim for influence in terms of co-ordination of national research programmes.  The Pompidou Group role in respect of research will therefore remain limited except in the identification of new research needs.


4.        Assessing the impact of Pompidou Group activities at national level

Impact analysis of the activities of traditional intergovernmental co-operation organisations such as the Pompidou Group is notoriously difficult, especially when the activities concern essentially information exchange and the promotion of co-operation rather than the implementation of operational action or the preparation of legal instruments and similar formal texts.  Whilst the production of the activities in terms of reports, publications and studies can be checked against objectives, the actual distribution of this production is more difficult to monitor and its use in practice very difficult to assess in any scientific way.  In addition, where discussions set out to influence policies or the development of legislation or programmes at national or local level, there are always many parallel factors affecting the actual development in the countries, the benefits gained from international discussions being only one of them.  It is therefore virtually impossible to point to a clear causal relationship between Pompidou Group activities and developments at national level.

Permanent Correspondents have therefore been asked to attempt to identify areas where there has been a recognisable impact from Pompidou Group work.  This section is based on the replies of eight countries and inevitably it contains a considerable element of subjective appreciation.

            Impact on policy development

Seven of the ten countries report that discussions within the Group and the information and experience exchanged have proved valuable in defining and developing policies at national level, in particular thanks to the multidisciplinary approach and the wide range of experience within the group.  Examples of good practice or innovative strategies from other countries provide a strong impetus for innovation at home.  In particular, the national drug strategies of Spain, Ireland and Portugal draw on experience from within the Pompidou Group.  A further benefit reported is an increased level of co-operation with other countries from within the Group.

            Seminars and technical conferences

Most countries report benefits from the exchange of information and experience and networking of professionals provided by such events.  The specific subject areas mentioned from the current programme varies widely between countries.  Unsurprisingly, most benefit is obtained when the subject area is new or where programmes within a given country are weak in the given field.  Among those mentioned were the seminars on Pregnancy and Drug Abuse, Vocational Rehabilitation, Criminal Justice issues, Road Traffic and Drugs and on the Control of Psychotropic Substances and ADHD.  Portugal, Spain and Switzerland all mention the distribution of several hundred copies of the publications from certain seminars to specialised audiences in their country. In Poland, the results of most of these seminars have been published in scientific and professional journals and serve as a base for future developments at national level in some of the fields mentioned above.

Guidelines and handbooks

The value of the Prevention handbook is stressed by several countries and confirmed by the number now undertaking translation into their own language.  The distribution at national level of these translations is often several hundreds or thousands. Greece notes the high level of interest of this handbook for prevention workers.

Airports Group

Six of the ten countries highlight the benefit gained from this group, in particular due to the raised awareness on the issues around general aviation, the updating of authorities on new trends in trafficking by air and the appointment of contact officers for the different actions undertaken by the Group.  The United Kingdom notes that the Airports Brochure has facilitated the setting up on controlled deliveries which have led to UK arrests and the partial dismantling of trafficking networks.  In addition, the better risk presentations and results obtained by countries of central and eastern Europe have benefited law enforcement services in Europe generally.

Data collection techniques

National treatment reporting systems in Ireland have directly resulted from Pompidou Group work.  School surveys within ESPAD based on Pompidou Group methodology have served as a reference for the definition, monitoring and evaluation of national policies in Portugal and in Greece. The work of the Epidemiology committee has contributed to the development of epidemiological research methodology in the field of drug abuse in Poland and to the initiation of many research programmes at local level.  The Netherlands highlights the fact that the Pompidou Group was the first international agency focusing on high quality and comparable international data on drug use prevalence and that this has influenced work in many fora.  The success of training activities in the CEEC is evidenced by the establishment of an effective Russian city network and by the high quality of the city reports from most of the new CEEC member States.

Fellowships

Both Portugal and Ireland stress the value obtained from the Fellowship scheme.  This is not only true for the Fellowship holders themselves but also, in the opinion of Ireland, for the services receiving visitors who also profit from the exchange of experience since these visitors are usually highly qualified professionals.


5.            External relations and co-operation with other organisations

5.1         Co-operation agreements and other consultation mechanisms

It has been an objective of the Chair of Permanent Correspondents to visit all the main partner organisations during the Work Programme period in order to explain the activities of the Group and seek to improve co-ordination and co-operation between organisations.  As a result the Chair, Dr Rodrigues, accompanied by the Executive Secretary or another Secretariat member has paid visits to:

The Executive Director of UNDCP

The Chairman and Secretariat of INCB

The then Head of the Programme on Substance Abuse of WHO

The Director of the WHO Regional Office for Europe

The European Commission

The Executive Director of EMCDDA.

As a result of these visits work on establishing memoranda of understanding has been started with WHO and has been completed with EMCDDA.

The MoU with EMCDDA was signed by the Executive Director of EMCDDA and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in September 1999.  The main objectives are to step up co-operation to improve the collection and analysis of comparable data, the use of available data and information and the dissemination of results.  A second objective is to create synergies between the organisations by installing a mechanism for co-ordination of planning and implementation of activities and the sharing of information.  Apart from the existing practice of inviting participation in each others meetings, in particular those of Permanent Correspondents and of the EMCDDA Management Board, regular meetings between the Secretariats (at least annually) will be held to review co-ordination and the respective chairs of the Management Committees will participate annually in these meetings.  A liaison officer will also be designated in each organisation.  The workings of the agreement will be reviewed in 2001.  It is hoped that these arrangements will lead to an increased number of joint projects.

In the course of this Work Programme joint projects, have been carried out with UNDCP, INCB, WHO, and EMCDDA.  These are referred to in the Work Programme activities of section 3.

5.2       Participation in meetings of other bodies

Parliamentary Assembly

The Social, Health and Family Affairs Commission of the Parliamentary Assembly held a hearing on drug issues in December 1998 at which the speakers were provided by the Pompidou Group.  Permanent Correspondents of Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland together with the Chair of Permanent Correspondents presented national drug strategies.  The subsequent exchange with the parliamentarians was valuable.  Following this hearing Permanent Correspondents had agreed to more actively seek parliamentary participation in the principle activities of the Group.


            Other Council of Europe bodies

The Pompidou Group is represented by the Chair of Permanent Correspondents on the new Steering Committee for Social Cohesion.  He also attended the January 2000 Dublin Conference on Social Policy Issues in preparation for the Geneva World Meeting.  Relations with other Council of Europe steering committees are maintained by the Secretariat which regularly provides information on Pompidou Group activities.

            Participation in meetings of other bodies by the Chair and the Secretariat

Participation by the Chair

Sessions of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations,

Vienna

1st meeting of the European Committee for Social Cohesion (CDCS),

Strasbourg, 3 November 1998

Meeting with the President of the MILDT (France),

2 February 1999

European Conference on Social Development,

Dublin, 17-18 January 2000

Co-ordination meetings with WHO,

Geneva, 1 February 2000 and Copenhagen, 5 May 2000

Participation by the Secretariat

United Nations

Sessions of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations,

Vienna

4th meeting of the UNAIDS Task Force,

Kiev, 29 September–2 October 1999

WHO:

Meeting of the Health in Prison Project (WHO),

Athens, 25-27 November 1999

Meeting of WHO (Europe) Health in prison project,

Bern, 20 March 2000

European Union

Road Safety in Europe: a shared responsibility,

October 1997

Conference on synthetic drugs,

Brussels, 27-28 November 1997


EU Phare Multi-country programme for the fight against drugs:

Liaison Group meeting,

26-27 February 1998

Natolin Conference “Pan-European platform against drugs”,

Warsaw, 24-25 April 1998

Drug Prevention Conference,

Brighton, 18-19 May 1998

European Conference on “Drug Prevention and Drug Policy”,

Vienna, 5-6 November 1998

Best Science on the Misuse of Drugs and other Substances Meeting,

Sandwell, United Kingdom, 15-17 November 1998

2nd Conference on Drug Policy in Europe,

28-29 February 2000

EMCDDA:

Meetings of Management Board of the EMCDDA,

Lisbon

UNDCP/EMCDDA Data Harmonisation meeting,

Lisbon, 20-21 January 2000

Interpol

European meetings of Heads of National Drugs Services of Interpol

(Antwerp in 1998, Edinburgh in 1999 and Warsaw in 2000)

3th International Heroin Conference (Interpol),

Genoa, 28-30 May 1997

CICAD

22nd Session of the CICAD,

Lima, 4-7 November 1997

Governmental meetings

«Journées Aix-les-Bains»,

Aix-les-Bains, 14-17 October 1997

Colloquy “Les élus et la toxicomanie”,

Pontault-Combault, France, 19-20 November 1998

1st interministerial meeting: “Drogues: savoir plus, risquer moins”,

Paris, 10 December 1999


Meetings of non-governmental bodies

14th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety, (ICADTS),

Annecy, 22-26 September 1997

Euridice Project – 1st transnational coordination committee meeting,

Barcelona, 19-20 June 1998

99th IAOPA (EUR) Regional Meeting,

Frankfurt, 7 November 1998

IV European Congress on Rehabilitation and Drug Policies,

Marbella, 26-27 February 1999

Congress on the liberalisation of drugs: a political or scientific question,

Maia-Porto, 14-16 April 1999

Seminar of the Deutsche Hanptstelle gegen die Suchtgefahren (DHS) on “Drogen im Strassenverkehr – Ein Problem unter europäischer perspektive”,

Tutzing/Starnberger See, Germany, 17-20 May 1999

8th Conference of European Cities on Drug Policy,

Halle, Germany, 24-25 June 1999

4th European Conference of ERIT,

Porto, 3-5 February 2000

6th Pan-Cyprian Conference “Cyprus against drugs”,

Larnaca, 11-12 February 2000

Committee of the Programme of Community Action on Prevention,

Luxembourg, 16 March 2000

15th International Conference on Alcohol, Drugs and Traffic Safety (ICADTS),

Stockholm, 22-26 May 2000

International Conference on Traffic Psychology (“ICTTP 2000”),

Bern, 4-5 September 2000

4th European Red Cross Network on HIV/AIDS,

Bratislava, 21-22 September 2000

ICAA:

42nd ICAA International Institute on the prevention and treatment of dependencies,

Malta 1-4 September 1998

38th International Congress on Alcohol, Drugs and other Dependencies,

Vienna, 18 August 1999


Other meetings

International Epidemiology Work Group on Drug Abuse,

Washington, 24-27 June 1997

Seminar of European and Latin American Drug Experts,

Porto, 8-9 October 1998

Preparatory meeting of World Forum on Drugs,

Brussels, 3-4 July 2000


6.            Resources

6.1         Budgets

The development of the general budget and the special accounts of the Pompidou Group over the period 1997 to 2000 is set out in the tables below.

Development of the Pompidou Group General Budget Allocations 1997-2000

(Main budget lines and total budget in Euros)

1997

1998

1999

2000

Staff                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Permanent

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Temporary

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Total

   666.678

     15.245

   679.923

  662.696

  133.850

  796.546

  677.179

  166.017

  843.196

 678.901

 172.999

  851.900

Translation/Interpretation

   142.997

  148.485

 133.240

 205.699*

Consultants

     45.735

    76.225

   76.225

   53.403

Fellowships

     40.399

    40.399

    40.399

   47.305

Secretariat official journeys

     35.063

    35.063

    35.063

   40.399

Publications

     12.196

    12.196

    30.490

   45.704

Fixed cont to CE budget

   379.598

   396.520

   457.195

  492.304

Total

1.335.911

1.505.434

1.615.808

1.736.714

* The basis on which Partial Agreements are charged for translation services was modified resulting in an increase representing over half of the difference with 1999 figures.


Contributions to Special Accounts

(Voluntary contributions and co-financing agreements with other organisations) 1997-2000

Source

1997

1998

1999

2000

Epidemiology

Denmark

38.112

38.112

38.112

-

Netherlands

45.555

45.555

-

Portugal

-

-

19.056

-

Totals

83.667

83.667

57.168

-

Other work programme activities

Switzerland (Social costs)

-

86.348

-

-

Norway (Outreach)

-

-

18.097

Totals

-

86.348

18.097

DRSTP*

Ireland

-

-

30.490

30.490

Luxembourg

-

-

30.500

30.500

Netherlands

-

22.602

-

22.689

Norway

-

-

144.514

147.534

Sweden

-

24.247

-

23.488

UK

-

-

46.248

-

Totals

-

46.849

251.752

254.701

Joint PG/UNDCP multi-city epidemiology project

UNDCP

102.997

52.013

35.569

42.884

East/West support for CEEC participants

UK

76.225

-

-

-

Switzerland

-

6.267

-

-

Portugal

-

-

19.056

-

Totals

76225

6267

19.056

* In addition, at the start of DRSTP II, the outstanding balance of funds for the DRSTP I, amounting to 138.605 Euro were transferred to the new project.  This represents the unspent part of funding (split 50/50) provided by Norway and Sweden to the DRSTP I.


6.2         Staffing

The current staffing of the Secretariat of the Pompidou Group is as follows:

One A5 Head of Department

One A4 Principal Administrator, Secretary to Permanent Correspondents

One A2/3 Administrator, Demand Reduction

One A2/3 Programme Adviser, Demand Reduction (temporary post)

One A2/3 Administrator, Supply Reduction and Criminal Justice Issues

One B5 Principal Administrative Assistant, Epidemiology and Med Network

One B4 Administrative Assistant, Demand Reduction

One B4 Documentalist (temporary post)*

Four B2/3 Secretaries (of which one temporary post)*

One A2/3 Programme Adviser, DRSTP (fixed term post)

One B3 Assistant, DRSTP (fixed term post)

This post was created in 1998.

* These posts were created on a half time basis for 1998 and full-time from 1999.

7.            Visibility, publications

Visibility

Considerable efforts have been made in the last three years to improve the presentation and distribution of the results of the Pompidou Group’s work and to introduce new instruments to provide information on activities.  In particular:

-                 a logo has been created and a co-ordinated graphic designed agreed for all publications;

-                 an information leaflet has been produced for general public;

-                 a folder of fact sheets has been produced for a more specialised audience;

-                 a newsletter has been introduced in 2000, targeted at administrations and professionals in contact with the Group, specialised institutions and other multipliers of information. This will appear three times a year;

-                 a Pompidou Group website has been created, hosted by the Council of Europe (address www.pompidou.coe.int).


Publications

Multi-city network in drug misuse trends. Synthesis report 1998

Ruud Bless, 2000

Development and testing of exit from treatment form – ETI for clients in drug abuse treatment

Anna Kokkevi, July 2000

Extension of the first treatment demand indicator from city to national level in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe

Alojz Nociar, May 2000

Mediterranean Rapid Drug Assessment Survey

Richard Muscat, Ruud Bless, 2000

Problematic drug use by women: Focus on community-based interventions

Dagmar Hedrich, 2000

Vocational rehabilitation for dug users in Europe

Seminar, Bratislava, January 2000, ISBN 4406-0

Vocational rehabilitation of drug users and drug dependent persons

Report on the state of the art and on the results of a survey in all member States of the Pompidou Group

EuREHA Project by Prof. Ambros Uchtenhagen, Susanne Schaaf and Christa Berger, 2000

Attention deficit / hyperkinetic disorders : diagnosis and treatment with stimulants

Seminar, Strasbourg, December 1999, ISBN 4240-8

Drug Use in Prison

Richard Muscat, May 2000

Drug-misusing offenders in prison and after release

Seminar, Strasbourg, October 1999, ISBN 4242-4

Drug Treatment in prison and aftercare: A literature review and results of a survey of European countries

Paul Turnbull and Tim McSweeney, 1999

Road traffic and drugs

Seminar, Strasbourg, April 1999, ISBN 4145-2

Treated Drug Users in 23 European cities - Data 1997 - Trends 1996-97

Pompidou Group Project on Treatment Demand : Final report by Michael Stauffacher, co-ordinator November 1999, ISBN 4007-3

European Handbook on Prevention – Alcohol, Drugs and Tobacco (1998)

Drug-misusing offenders and the criminal justice system - The period from the first contact with the police to and including sentencing

Seminar, Strasbourg, October 1998, ISBN 3790-0

Working group on minorities and drug misuse, consultant’s report

G. F. Van De Wijngaart and F. Leenders, 1998

Heroin seizures as an indicator of variation in market situations, drugs availability and heroin use in Europe

1998

Multi-city Network Eastern Europe - Joint Pompidou Group/UNDCP project: extension of the multi-city network to Central and Eastern Europe. First city reports from: Bratislava, Budapest, Gdansk, Ljubljana, Prague, Sofia, Szeged, Varna, Warsaw 1997

Pregnancy and drug misuse

Symposium, Strasbourg, March 1997, ISBN 3789-7

Special needs of children of drug misusers

Consultants’ final report by Beate Leopold and Elfriede Steffan, 1997

Handbook on Snowball Sampling

May, 1997

Benzodiazepine Use: An annotated bibliography and discussion of possible future activities to be undertaken by the Group of experts in epidemiology of drug problems of the Pompidou Group

Paul Griffiths and Louisa Vingoe, 1998

Update on early warning systems, ecstasy use and implications for the work of the Epidemiology Group (Pompidou Group)

Paul Griffiths, 1997

Available shortly:

Pregnancy and drug misuse

Seminar, Strasbourg, May 2000

Handbook on organizing and carrying out checks on general aviation

Third Multi-city Study: Drug trends in European cities in the 90s

Ruud Bless, 2000


APPENDIX

Report on the modernisation of the Pompidou Group

1.         The core tasks and activities of the Pompidou Group

The Pompidou Group is a multidisciplinary forum for European ministers co-operating to combat drug abuse and illicit trafficking in drugs, together with duly appointed Permanent Correspondents and a secretariat provided by the Council of Europe.

The PG’s core task is to contribute towards the development of a multidisciplinary, balanced, effective and innovative drugs policy in the countries that participate in the PG. The PG does this by exchanging information, knowledge and opinions about trends in drug use and supply and the problems associated with them, drug policies, activities in the fields of addict care, prevention, judicial, police and customs work, science, and other relevant developments. Its primary aim is to give practical support to policy makers, professionals and other field workers.  It gives particular attention to creating links with the countries of central and eastern Europe.

The PG co-ordinates its activities with other organisations and forums active in comparable fields, seeking synergies, and if possible it collaborates with them.  The PG carries out its tasks in a flexible, multidisciplinary and practice-oriented way.

The subject of the PG’s activities is the problem of abuse of or addiction to illicit drugs and the policy pursued in the different countries to combat this problem.  In the pursuance of this objective, the group will also follow developments in related fields, such as the use of alcohol, tobacco, psychotropic medicines and doping substances, and, where there is an interrelationship with illicit drugs or it is otherwise relevant, it can incorporate them into the PG’s activities.  Conversely, the knowledge and experience of the drug problem that the PG possesses must also be made available to those working in the aforementioned related fields.

2.         The structure of the PG

The structure of the PG supports its objectives.  The following elements of the structure can be distinguished:

a.            The Ministerial Conference

This is attended by the ministers from each member country of the PG who has principal responsibility for the questions covered by the Group. A specific decision will be taken before each conference as to possible invitation of non-members. The conference is held once every three years.  Its function is to formulate the strategic direction of pan-European drugs policy and to formulate priorities within that framework.  The ministers endorse the evaluation report drawn up by the PCs on the activities of the past three years, and they approve the work programme for the coming period.  The conference also provides the ministers with an opportunity to meet one another and exchange information. Extraordinary conferences may also be held on specific themes.


b.            The meeting of Permanent Correspondents (PCs)

The government or relevant minister of each country participating in the PG appoints a PC who represents his government or his country in respect of all questions concerning drugs and drug addiction.  The PCs assemble regularly at a plenary meeting.  The meetings should serve as an intellectual and political forum.  They should also be platforms where contacts can be made and exchanges of views can take place.  They focus on exchanging information and opinions about recent developments in the drug policies pursued by the individual countries and within the international frameworks.  The meeting also monitors and manages the progress of the PG’s activities.  The meeting of PCs can appoint a number of PCs to act as coordinators for implementing fields of the work programme.  These co-ordinators, together with the chair and vice-chair, ensure the multisectoral coherence of the activities and promote the development of new initiatives within the framework of an integrated strategy.

c.            Working groups and seminars

These are used to implement the work programme, and their main function is to satisfy the need for an exchange or transfer of new knowledge, information and opinions between policy makers, professionals and other field workers and scientists.  The number, the form and the frequency of these implementation activities vary according to the subject, and are determined by the meeting of PCs.  The main criterion is an efficient and flexible way of working.  Subjects from the working programme are clustered together where possible to be handled within working groups and seminars.

In principle, and where possible, they are chaired by one of the PCs.

d.            The Secretariat

The Secretariat assists in the preparation, implementation and facilitation of the PG’s activities.  The Secretariat should play an active role in supporting and stimulating the human network.  The (clusters of) activities are supported by a member of the Secretariat assigned to this task.  The chairman of the PG gives guidance tothe Secretariat.  Where necessary, external experts supply specific expertise.  The Secretariat’s duties also include monitoring the synergy of relevant activities within the Council of Europe.

3.         The PG’s way of working

a.            Drawing up and implementing the work programme; drawing up the evaluation report

The work programme specifies the activities that will be carried out during a three-year period.  The programme defines the purpose of these activities as well as, tothe extent possible, the form that they will take, their target group, the schedule and the financial aspects.  The work programme gives special attention to innovative aspects, implementing practical solutions, pro-active policies and the scientific contribution to activities.  However the work programme must be realistic, and must contain a restricted number of themes.  The PG avoids in its work programme the risk of duplication with other international bodies.  Where possible, the work programme indicates how subjects will be specified further (working groups or seminars).


The work programme and the evaluation report are drawn up by the Permanent Correspondents and are submitted for consideration and approval by the Ministers from the member countries during the Ministerial Conference.  The evaluation report describes how work programme activities have been implemented and the results achieved and draws conclusions with a view to the next work programme.  The PCs are mandated by their ministers to add specific items to the work programme or to change the intended activities for urgent reasons, such as current developments or subsequent events that may occur.  The motivation for real changes will be clearly expressed in the evaluation report submitted to the subsequent ministerial meeting.

b.         The management of the PG

At the start of a new work programme, the ministers choose at the Ministerial Conference a chairperson and vice-chairperson from their members. The candidate(s) for these functions are  proposed after consultations between the PCs.  The chairperson and vice-chairperson are in function during the next three years, including the next Ministerial Conference  at the end of this period.  The PC of the country that holds the presidency chairs the meeting of the PCs.  The responsible minister appoints another person during this period who will act as PC on behalf of his country.  The chair of the PCs consults with the Secretariat at least four times a year about the preparations for the meeting of PCs and the progress of other activities. Where relevant, these consultations are also attended by the vice-chair and the persons responsible for coordinating the implementation of activities, although such consultations will normally take place by telephone or electronic mail.  During these discussions, the chair can also make decisions that cannot or need not wait until the meeting of PCs.  The Secretariat informs the PCs of the results of the discussions.

c.         The meeting of PCs

In principle this is held twice a year and lasts for a maximum of two full days.  The agenda includes at least the following:

-           Official business

-           Information about the progress of the work programme

-           Information about recent policy developments at national and international level

-           Discussion of one or two substantive topics

The Secretariat prepares the official business in written form as far as possible.  The information about the progress of activities is also prepared in written form, and if necessary it is elucidated by the PCs responsible for co-ordination in this area.  The PCs provide brief information about important developments in their countries; the representatives of international organizations do the same for their activities.

The substantive topics are selected by the chair from his/her own suggestions or the suggestions of other PCs, and they should preferably be presented by one or more PCs.  External experts can also give these presentations.

The Secretariat and the chair are jointly responsible for ensuring that the meeting of PCs is well prepared by providing concise documentation.  As a rule, this will consist of a summary, the points for decision and any financial consequences.  The documents should be clearly numbered.

Permanent Correspondents should strive to prevent a standstill during their deliberations resulting from a lack of consensus.  They could either set up a small group with the mandate of examining the issue and reporting back to the plenary on the outcome of its proceedings or proceed by majority vote.  However, important documents like the Political Declaration and the Work Programme should always be adopted by consensus.  Permanent Correspondents could make the decisions regarding the implementation of the work programme by voting with a simple majority of members.

d.         Publicity and external relations

The PG is striving to improve the visibility of its activities.  The chair of the Group or the chair of PC's represents the PG at international meetings, and in contacts with non-member countries and the other international organisations.  They may designate the vice-chair or the Secretariat to replace them.  These contacts will especially seek to create synergies and avoid overlapping.

The chair and Secretariat also communicate actively with the outside world through the media.  The PCs must also play an active role in their own countries.  Their national governments provide them with a mandate to do so and facilitate them.  To assist in this area, a PC job profile will be drawn up.  The PG’s publications must be targeted at the needs of the separate target groups.  More publicity will be given to the PG’s activities by means of a Newsletter.  More use will also be made of the Internet and other electronic media.  The PG will call in an external consultant to advise on publicity and external relations.

4.         The PG’s financing

The PG aims to introduce this modernization programme within the constraints of its current budget.  By employing a number of measures, such as restricting the work programme, reducing the volume of documents and the associated translation costs, making use of new media, etc., it can achieve savings and so create scope for new activities.

Besides their contribution to the general budget, participating countries can also contribute towards specific goals.  Such additional contributions are particularly relevant where a country or countries propose(s) an activity which is a priority only for a small group of members. Proposal for funding from a non-governmental source must be approved specifically by the Permanent Correspondents after examination of the appropriateness of the proposal.  The meeting of PCs also ensures that these specific or extra contributions do not lead to monopolisation or politicisation of certain subjects.





[1]             The text in italics reproduced the aims set out for each field of activity in the Work Programme 1997-2000 adopted by ministers in May 1997.