EU Action Plan on Drugs
OVERVIEW
The EU Drugs Strategy (2013-20) and Action Plan (2017-20) provide the overarching political framework and priorities for EU drugs policy identified by Member States and EU institutions. These documents shape domestic drug policies in the EU Member States and set the direction of EU drug policy development. The aim of this working group is to support evidence-informed decision making at the EU, national and local level by consulting decision makers in preparing, monitoring and evaluating these documents, as well as by raising awareness on the impact of the EU Drug Strategy and Action Plan on Drugs from the perspectives of civil society. During the 2015-2017 mandate, the working group was mandated by the CSFD to carry out work on behalf of the CSFD in relation to the mid-term evaluation of the EU Drug Strategy (2013-20) and the final evaluation of the EU Action Plan on Drugs (2013-16). In the current mandate, the WG continues this focus on the EU Drug Strategy and Action Plan through the relevant activities set out in the CSFD project, including close working relationships with WG 3 in relation to the EU strategy’s interaction with national level policies.
ACTIVITIES
In 2018 and 2019 the work of the WG 1 focused on a number of key activities. First, the development of a survey which sought to evaluate the implementation of the EU action plan from the perspective of civil society. Second, a report, analysing the insights from the questionnaire, and providing a deeper understanding of the relationship between civil society and the high-level EU documents. Third, and building on the report and its findings, WG1 also produced advocacy resources – a video resource to communicate the findings and recommendations of the report to non-expert audiences; and a series of case studies highlighting successes, gaps and challenges in the implementation of the EU plan at national/local levels. Put together, these resources (complemented with a policy paper on using EU Action Plan on Drugs in advocacy on national and local level developed by WG 3) represent a comprehensive information-advocacy package to be freely used by any individuals and organisations willing to expand their knowledge and capacity in the context of advocating for evidence-informed drug policies. See the resources section below for links to the relevant tools.