HAVE YOUR SAY ON ENCODS ROLE ON THE EU CIVIL SOCIETY FORUM
ENCOD has been invited to the second session of the Civil Society Forum on EU Drug Policy->article1177] that will be held on May 20th and 21st 2008 in Brussels. To the forum, 26 representatives of EU civil society organisations will be invited, selected out of a [list of 77 organisations who asked to take part.
The official aim of this forum is to increase informal consultation and the input of civil society on the activities, policy proposals, implementation and priorities of the EU Action Plan on Drugs 2005 – 2009->article327]. Above all, the [2007 progress review of the Action Plan will be discussed.
Read also the first draft for an ENCOD response on this progress review and the letter to the Commission with regards to the call for proposals to receive EU support in order to participate in the dialogue.
We wish to enable our members to give their opinion on what the ENCOD position in this meeting should be, by replying to this article. Others are wellcome to comment as well, but can not expect to have their opinions reflected in the final ENCOD position.
On 18 may we gathered all opinions and integrated them in a final position.
CONSULTATION OF ENCOD MEMBERS
Dear Friends,
I think that in regard of the first meeting held on december’07, ENCOD should adressed a letter before april 20th (common with other Civil society representatives that were choose by HDG for this dialogue with civil society) to all EU MP and each national government, with copy to the Pompidou group targetting the next EU action Plan by saying “a new action plan should adressed this and this (major proposals contained in Catania report) and if not, that will show that EU institutions have no interest with “dialogue” and are using fake process in order to “dive the fish”…
Because, things are going fast, and we know that it is the french government which gonna draft the next action plan… results are already known about the way it will go. I’m sure that the “dialogue within a civil society forum” with unbalanced members between pro and anti prohibitionnist politics, with unreal networks, with institutionnal NGO which are not corresponding to the definition of a “civil society” group… Then, I think that the real process of dialogue is already out of the room, so we have to keep the seat inside to get the informations and to be able to inform our network even with our critics (positives or not) ; but then we should not be blind by this forum.
At least, the commission of EU parliament that draft the catania report, then the vote by EU MP was not used by HDG… what can a civil society NGO forum could achieved better than some parliamentarians ; I really doubt of the will of EU burocrats to take into account of what could get out of the “forum”.
Best regards,
FARId
CONSULTATION OF ENCOD MEMBERS
Dear Farid
I totally agree with you.
joep
CONSULTATION OF ENCOD MEMBERS
Dear Joep and Farid & others,
Good work in this quite locked up situation. Farid’s proposal sounds great and I encourage you to work upon it.
What I think is significant is the global situation with the deep economical depression or even collapse looming ahead for the USA. It is very likely that the US situation will deepen into total slump and that in turn will remove its power as the controller of the world. This is already happening, but it will take this year (2008) to see more banks to get bankrupt and the full downward process will take approx two years. By the end of 2009 the US will no longer have the financial resources required to maintain the drug prohibition apparatus in its present day form.
The downturn will not be short, it will be a lengthy process. After reaching the bottom, the country will remain in stagnation for at least of three years, before something can be collected from the rubble. I am seeing general strikes, massive demonstrationsa and even riots happening in the US, and eventually the public will take the power from the current ruling authoritarian capitalist elite.
While the US has been the powerhouse of the whole western economy, the situation in america will affect the whole world and escalate into Europe as well, but perhaps with less drastic effects. Unemployment and government expenditure will go up, human suffering will increase demand for drugs both in US and in EU and this combined with the decreasing govermental funds will eventually force the goverments to re-prioritize their policies and start looking for something cost-effective.
There may be drastic reforms forth coming in the financial and political systems of the world in the coming years, after the current banking crisis has escalated into full-fledged financial slump, devaluated several world currencies and shattered the current power structures into rubble.
I see that though it sounds hard and challenging scenario, it is a realistic and quite propable view, that has good chances for a very positive outcome. This all is required to tranform the present day environmentally un-sustainable materialist consumer society with its undemocratic and authoritarian power elite into real human society that lives in balance with human psychology, spirituality and the nature.
Best wishes,
Ossi
CONSULTATION OF ENCOD MEMBERS
You should present the proposals for an end to prohibition first and most importantly.
If there are opportunities for other representations you can do them as personal remarks to individuals or a letter afterwards etc.
From
Legalise Cannabis Campaign Scotland
CONSULTATION OF ENCOD MEMBERS
On Friday 23 November, ENCOD plans to send the following letter to the European Commission, we are asking all involved organisations to co-sign this letter.
If you want to know more please contact us
To: Mr. Carel Edwards
Head of the Co-ordinating Drugs Unit of the European Commission
European Commission
Directorate General Justice, Freedom and Security
B-1049 Brussel
Dear Carel Edwards,
Herewith we would like to thank you for your letter of 31 October 2007, announcing the organisation of the first meeting of the Civil Society Forum on Drugs in the European Union, on 13 & 14 December 2007.
We note from your letter that 26 organisations, ENCOD among them, have been selected to participate in this meeting, out of a total of 75 respondents to the call for applications that expired on 17 August 2007. The maximum number of participants to the Civil Society Forum had been set earlier at 30.
Several questions can be raised concerning the selection process for this forum. We note that several important stakeholders in the European drug debate, such as organisations representing drug consumers, are not (enough) represented in the dialogue. On the other hand, some organisations have been selected in spite of the fact that they did not participate in the previous consultation. The same counts for some organisations that, from a first glance, do not seem to fulfill the eligibility criteria to join the forum as they were published by the Commission in April this year.
According to the Green Paper on the role of civil society in Drug Policy in the European Union, published in June 2006, the objective of the dialogue with civil society is ‘to explore the scope for bringing those most directly concerned by the drugs problem more closely into the policy process’ (p.3).
In December 2006, the European Parliament approved a budget increase of 1 million EURO to the 2007 budget for Drugs Prevention and Information. The specific purpose of this budget increase was to “support dialogue with civil society on drug policy”. We assume the major part of this budget increase has yet to be spent.
In April this year, the European Commission published the key results of the open consultation with stakeholders that took place through the Green Paper. One of the six main conclusions of this consultation was: “The Forum should be inclusive rather than exclusive, with transparent selection criteria.”
Therefore we wish to make the following enquiries
1. Can the Commission explain what are the reasons for not inviting all 75 organisations that applied to the August 17 deadline to the first meeting of the Civil Society Forum?
2. Can the Commission indicate, for each organisation that applied to the August 17 deadline, the specific reasons for selecting or not selecting this organisation to the CSF?
We look very much forward to your responses on those questions, which will surely help to increase the transparency and therefore the legitimacy of the forum.
signed by:
European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies (ENCOD)
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