Brussels, 17/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - The Committee of Permanent Representatives of the Fifteen will try to finalise on Thursday the proposals on Europol participation in joint enquiries, the sexual exploitation of children and the method for harmonising sentences, with the aim of reaching agreement on these three issues at the Justice and Home Affairs Council on 25 and 26 April. Coreper will examine the draft negotiating mandate for a legal co-operation agreement with the United States (yesterday's EUROPE, p.9). It can already been taken or granted that the Council will approve four proposals relating to the fight against drugs.
Europol: the Fifteen are very close to an agreement on the participation of the European police office in joint investigating teams and on the possibility for this office to ask Member States to undertake such investigations. The two reservations that remain on the table come from the Netherlands, which wants to limit the field of application of the decision to areas for which there are European co-operation agreements, and Denmark, which wants Europol agents not to be treated in the same way as national agents. No decision will be adopted, anyway, as Europol participation in investigations is still included in the same text as the proposal on the simplification of the way of amending the Europol Convention, on which there is still no agreement, and will not be on the agenda of the 25 April Council. The first of the three options, keeping the Convention but modifying all the points by a simple decision of the Council, was rejected. The second (keeping the Convention but modifying certain points) is still being looked into but Member States do not yet agree on the extremely limited number of points. The third (replacing the Convention by a decision of the Council) still poses some Constitutional problems. This question is due to be examined by the JHA Council in June. The EP must also give its opinion.
War against drugs: The Council is expected to adopt an opinion on the war against drug trafficking and calls on Member States to act at the same time, at the beginning of the investigation, on the traffick itself and on its financial structures, to support the creation of joint investigation teams working with the help of Europol. A second opinion is also expected to encourage Member States to co-operate more within the EU and third countries against the trade in illegal substances. The Council is due to adopt an opinion for Member States in the fight against drugs: school programmes, drug addiction prevention programmes in all education establishments and encouraging the training of prevention teachers. The Council is also expected to approve a recommendation on the prevention of the "recreational" use of drugs, including alcohol and tobacco. This resolution calls on Member States to develop information campaigns and involve associations, families and the social sector to check that alcohol and tobacco are not sold under the legal minimum age limit and to takea variety of measures for setting up public transport in the evenings at weekends