EUROPEAN COOPERATION TO STOP TRAFFICKING AND SALE OF ILLEGAL DRUGS

Illegal drug use in the EU may have stabilised for the first time in a
decade, but cocaine use continues to increase, according to the 2007 Annual
Report on the State of the Drugs Problem in Europe, launched today by the
European Monitoring for Centre for Drug Addiction and Drugs

"This year's report brings good news in that the use of cannabis and heroin
may have stabilised in Europe and that the EU is better equipped to tackle
illegal drug problems than a decade ago as a result of EU and national drug
strategies coupled with more investment in drug prevention and treatment.
However, the high levels of drug-related deaths and worrying increase of
cocaine use in some Member States underlines the necessity for continued
European cooperation to stop the criminals behind the large-scale
production, trafficking and sale of illegal drugs" said Vice-President
Franco Frattini, Commissioner responsible for Freedom, Security and
Justice, in response to the publication of the EMCDDA's (European
Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction) 2007 Annual Report

The upward trend in cocaine use has also been confirmed by the record 107
tonnes of cocaine seized, up over 45% on cocaine quantities seized in 2004.

The EMCDDA's Annual Report on the European drugs situation presents the
latest data on the patterns of drug use, supply, treatment and other
interventions across the EU, allowing the EU and the Commission to follow
an ever changing situation in the use of illegal drugs and to take action
based on sound evidence. The EMCDDA's data on the drugs phenomenon is also
essential information for the Commission's annual review of the EU Action
Plan on Drugs 2005-2008 due to be published next month.

The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (the EMCDDA) is
a Community regulatory agency created in 1993. Its objective is to provide
the Community and its Member States with factual, objective, reliable and
comparable information at European level concerning drugs and drug
addiction and their consequences. Its work allows the European Commission
to propose evidence based policies in the illegal drugs field.

Drugs are one of the major concerns of the European citizens and a threat
to the security and health of our society. To help tackle this situation
the EU Drugs Action Plan 2005-2008 contains more than 80 actions covering
demand reduction, supply reduction, fight against illicit trafficking and
international action.

For details of the EMCDDA 2007 Annual Report http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/

For details of EU cooperation in the field of drugs:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/fsj/drugs/fsj_drugs_intro_en.htm