Legislation

European Community legislation

A new legal arsenal has been put in place in the EU with the entry into force in August 2005 of a set of three regulations aiming at closely monitoring trade in drug precursors both within the EU and between the EU and the rest of the world.

• One regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 111/2005, EU Official Journal L 22 of 26/01/2005) lays down rules for the monitoring of trade in drug precursors between the EU and countries outside the Union. It requires that all imports??- including transhipment, exports and intermediary activities involving drug precursors be documented by operators, and that precursors be clearly identified as such. In addition, businesses trading in precursors have to hold a licence or be registered.
• Another regulation (Regulation (EC) No 273/2004 of the European Parliament and the Council, EU Official Journal L 47 of 18/02/2004) lays down the rules for the monitoring of trade within the EU. For further information see website.
• The third regulation (Commission Regulation (EC) No 1277/2005, EU Official Journal L 202 of 03/08/2005) lays down detailed implementing rules for the two regulations mentioned above, in order to establish the necessary procedures regarding licensing, and further detailed rules concerning the monitoring of trade. Imports and exports require prior individual authorisations where specific forms must be used. For transhipment consignments the operator must be able to demonstrate the licit purposes of the transaction. This can be done by using this model(29 Kb)  .

Different types of administrations are involved in drug precursor control, notably Health, Police, and Customs. Today, precursor specific controls through Customs at the EU external frontier are more important than ever. When the EU precursor legislation came into force more than a decade ago, the EU used to be an exporter of drug precursors. Today this is still the case, but the EU also imports drug precursors. Especially those precursors than can be misused in the illicit manufacture of Amphetamine type Stimulants (ATS) are generally not produced locally and must be brought into the EU. This situation requires particular attention from EU Customs when securing the EU external frontier.

In order to clarify some important legislative provisions, the European Commission has published a document on the frequently asked questions about the application of the legislation(80 Kb)  .

The European Commission on 7 January 2010 adopted a report on the implementation of EU legislation (Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament pursuant to Article 16 of Regulation (EC) No 273/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 and to Article 32 of Council Regulation (EC) No 111/2005 on the implementation and functioning of the Community legislation on monitoring and control of trade in drug precursors).

International framework

EU legislation on drug precursors is based upon Article 12 of the 1988 United Nations Convention against illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. The Convention provides for comprehensive measures against drug trafficking, including provisions against the diversion of precursor chemicals, as well as money laundering. It provides for international co-operation through, for example, extradition of drug traffickers, controlled deliveries and transfer of proceedings. Article 12 in particular focuses on preventing the diversion of drug precursors through controlling businesses engaged in the manufacturing and distribution of those chemicals, and monitoring international trade in those substances. 170 countries are contracting parties to this UN Convention.

The UN body in charge of monitoring the Convention's implementation is the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The International Narcotics Control Board is an independent and quasi-judicial monitoring body for the implementation of the UN international drug control conventions. It was established in 1968 in accordance with the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The INCB in particular monitors and promotes measures taken by the different contracting parties to prevent diversion of drug precursors and assists national administrations in meeting their obligations under the conventions. The international drug control treaties also require the INCB to prepare annual reports on the drug control situation worldwide. The INCB also prepares specific annual reports on the implementation of Article 12 of the 1988 Convention which provide a detailed analysis on the worldwide situation of diversion of drug precursor chemicals.