SCENESETTER FOR VISIT TO BRUSSELS OF ONDCP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BRUSSELS 000638

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

ONDCP PASS CHARLOTTE SISSON; DEPARTMENT PASS INL/PC SCOTT
HARRIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM OTRA SNAR EUN USEU BRUSSELS
SUBJECT: SCENESETTER FOR VISIT TO BRUSSELS OF ONDCP
DIRECTOR WALTERS FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 1, 2005

REF: ONDCP 4292


1. (SBU) Summary. Your visit to Brussels comes at an
important juncture in U.S.-EU relations. The transatlantic
dialogue has been given a dramatic boost from the recent
visit of Secretary of State Rice. Her meetings with the EU
have laid the foundation for the upcoming visit of President
Bush. The prospects for your message receiving an open and
fair hearing have been greatly enhanced. We enjoy close
counter-narcotics cooperation with the EU in third countries.
We share their concern with increasing heroin imports into
the Union from Afghanistan, and have agreed to work together
to stem the growing organized crime problem in the Balkans
which thrives on drug smuggling. Most importantly, our close
cooperation in combating terrorism is increasingly motivated
by our common concern about the rise of narco-terrorism. A
new parliament and commission took office last fall. Initial
indications are that EU institutions are willing to
strengthen U.S.-EU cooperation, particularly in the area of
Justice and Home Affairs, which includes drug policy and
counter-narcotics efforts. End summary.

EU Drug Strategy
--------------


2. (SBU) In December 2004, the EU Council approved a new EU
Drug Strategy for 2005-2012, providing a broad strategic
framework for the new two four-year EU Action Plans on Drugs.
The new Strategy is not significantly different from the old
one, and is more notable for what is lacks than any new
initiatives. It does not call for new institutions or any
revisions to the existing UN Drug Conventions. Some EU
members have considered promoting UN Convention reform as a
way for winning broader acceptance for "harm reduction"
policies. The Strategy contains a minor mention of harm
reduction as a policy goal, but this is unavoidable in the EU
context.


3. (U) In terms of external EU assistance, the Strategy does
not prioritize any particular geographic region, outside of
stating that "particular attention should be paid to
cooperation with the countries on the Eastern border of the
Union, the Balkan States, Afghanistan and its neighbors, the
Latin American and Caribbean countries, Morocco, and other
drug routes." The Strategy calls for Member States facing a
common problem to explore the option of intensified
cooperation in order to address it." In other words,
"coalitions of the willing" may form to deal with particular
regions of concern. This has relevance to growing pressure
from Congress to encourage greater EU technical assistance to
Colombia and Afghanistan.

U.S.-EU Dialogue on Drugs
--------------


4. (U) There are two main fora in which we discuss drug
policy and cooperation with the EU. The most important of
these is the "Drug Troika" which is held once per EU
presidency and which brings together drug policy officials
from the presidency country, the Council Secretariat and the
Commission. The U.S. delegation to this meeting includes
State/INL, DEA and ONDCP. The next Drug Troika is scheduled
for June in Washington. The other meeting at which drug
policy is discussed is the Informal Meeting on Justice and
Home Affairs which is also held once per presidency and
includes the same representation on the EU side. However,
the USDEL includes the Departments of Justice and Homeland
Security in addition to State. Two other fora where drug
cooperation is discussed (but not exclusively with the EU)
are the Dublin Group which meets twice per year, and the
Paris Pact which examines the heroin routes from Afghanistan
to Europe.


5. (U) There remains disagreement within the EU Member
States with regard to "harm reduction" (e.g., needle-exchange
programs, drug consumption rooms). Sweden, Italy and others
are more closely aligned with the U.S. in their zero
tolerance to drug use. Other countries (The Netherlands,
Germany, Portugal) favor a more liberalized approach. The
result tends to be a lack of commonality and focus at the EU
level.


6. (U) However, the EU is strengthening efforts to evaluate
its drug situation and looking to harmonize reporting through
the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction
(EMCDDA) located in Lisbon. The ONDCP has an informal
relationship with the EMCDDA through its Office of Research
and Evaluation to cooperate on monitoring and evaluation of
drug strategies.


7. (U) The EU also made significant strides last fall,
breaking a deadlock and finalizing the framework decision on
minimum penalties for drug trafficking. This compromise was
reached after more than two years of discussion. The
framework decision penalizes most trafficking offenses with a
minimum of one year in prison. The decision includes
trafficking in all drugs (hard and soft, a distinction the
U.S. does not draw) and precursors. Trafficking includes
cultivating, manufacturing, selling, transporting, possessing
and purchasing (not including personal consumption as defined
by national law). The coming together of the 25 Member
States to create the minimum sentence is a noteworthy
accomplishment, the first significant harmonization effort in
the criminal aspect of drug trafficking.


8. (U) We routinely present the EU with our National Drug
Control Strategy, have shared copies of it with them, and
continue to remind them of its balanced approach. We need to
continue to remind the EU that our strategy is balanced
between addressing both supply and demand.

The EU Parliament
--------------


9. (U) The European Parliament is the only EU institution
elected directly by universal suffrage. Members are elected
for a period of five years. Parliament has 732 members and
is divided by political affiliation, not by nationality.
There are eight political groups which are coalitions of
Member State Parties. No single party enjoys a majority.
The largest group in the current legislature is the EPP-ED
(Christian Democrats/Center right),followed by the PES
(Socialists/Center left) and then the ALDE (Liberals and
Democrats for Europe/market-oriented center).


10. (U) In the area of counter-narcotics and drug strategy,
the Parliament currently has limited power to affect EU
policy. Drug policy is a Justice and Home Affairs (JHA)
issue, and Parliament does not currently enjoy co-decision
power with the European Council on JHA issues. However, the
draft Constitutional Treaty establishes that European
"framework laws" would be adopted using the ordinary
legislative procedure (i.e., co-decision with the
Parliament). The draft Constitution provides that European
framework laws may establish minimum rules concerning the
definition of criminal offenses and sanctions in the areas of
particularly serious crime with a cross-border dimension,
including illicit drug trafficking. The Parliament will
continue to have the last word on the EU budget and can thus
affect EU assistance for counter-narcotics programs in third
countries. As expected, the Parliament is made up of
individuals holding the full range of positions on drug
policy - both supply and demand. Parliamentarians are
understandably pulled in different directions by party,
national, constituent and personal interests, but political
groups are starting to become more cohesive.

Cooperation with Belgium
--------------


11. (U) Belgian counter-narcotics issues are handled by the
Federal Police, and in association with foreign countries
through the Central Office (CBO) Drugs Squad. Embassy
Brussels maintains continual contact with the CBO on all
investigative matters and both official and unofficial
information is passed freely. All information required for
official purposes (e.g., official transcripts, prosecutions)
is obtained through the issuance of a Mutual Legal Assistance
Treaty (MLAT) request through the Belgian Ministry of Justice
and the U.S. Department of Justice. Extraditions to the U.S.
are allowed for non-Belgians and requests to conduct
international controlled deliveries of narcotics to and from
Belgium occur with some regularity.


12. (U) Due mainly to the seaport of Antwerp and Zaventem
International Airport, Belgium experiences substantial
cocaine importation estimated at a conservative twenty tons
per annum. Belgium is also the number two ranking country
for MDMA (ecstasy) production in the world, behind The
Netherlands. Eradication of the MDMA and amphetamine
laboratories in northern Belgium is a priority of the Belgian
National Security Plan 2004-2007, particularly with respect
to exportation of MDMA tablets. The Brussels office of the
Drug Enforcement Administration works closely with the CBO on
MDMA investigations and seeks to exploit any direct nexus,
either with the United States or with criminal groups that
impact the United States. The bilateral relationship with
the Belgian Federal Police is outstanding.
SCHNABEL
.