The Effects of EU Enlargement on European Drug Policy

In May this year ten new countries joined the existing European Union(EU) member states after long and complex accession negotiations. This article examines preparations for accession that were made in the area of illicit drug policy and discusses both their effectiveness and possible limitations. In the areas of drug trafficking and production and the exchange of information between member states some concrete policy measures have been almost directly transferable to new member states, largely due to the high degree of cooperation between existing member states in these areas. However, in the more controversial areas of harm reduction and dealing with drug use and drug users there are no concrete EU guidelines in place and policy is left up to the national governments of individual countries. In this important area many existing EU member

states have adopted important measures designed to reduce the harm of official drug policy but these practices are not proving to be so easily transferable to new member states. This article discusses the consequences of failing to adequately develop policy across the EU in this important area and suggests that failing to address this important issue in the new member states could have far reaching ramifications for the rest of Europe.