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Role of Community agencies in EU enlargement process reinforced
‘Community agencies: partners in accession’ was the focus of a conference hosted by the EMCDDA in Sintra from 25–27 November, at the initiative of the European Commission (1). The event brought together some 150 participants from the Community agencies, European Commission and EU Member States, as well as candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU (2).
In the context of EU enlargement, the conference set out to nurture partnerships between the European Community agencies and countries participating in the Commission’s Instrument of Pre-accession Assistance (IPA) programme (3). It is through the IPA programme that would-be EU members receive funding and support to prepare for accession.
From Stockholm to Cologne and from Lisbon to Dublin, the EU agencies provide service, information and know-how to the EU Member States and their citizens. Since 1997, the Community agencies have been working with candidate countries on technical assistance projects in a variety of fields, in preparation for EU membership. Since 2003, possibilities for collaboration have been extended to the Western Balkans (4).
‘Once countries join the EU, they are automatically required to participate in the work of the agencies’, explained EMCDDA Director Wolfgang Götz. ‘This is why aspiring EU members are encouraged to play an active role in the work of the agencies before entering the Union to ensure that they are fully operational in the specific field at the moment of accession. Partnerships between agencies and the candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU, such as those discussed at this conference, are vital for institution-building and the transfer of know-how and for nurturing valuable and durable relationships based on understanding and trust’.
Speakers from Poland, Turkey and Bosnia-Herzegovina presented the experiences of a former, current and potential EU candidate country in cooperating with the agencies. The Turkish delegate explained how the country’s Ministry of Health had increased its level of preparedness regarding influenza, following its cooperation with the Stockholm-based EU agency, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
Countries aspiring to EU membership must not only ‘talk the talk’, but must also ‘walk the walk’, putting theory into practice, said one of the opening speakers. Referring to EU membership as a mere ‘moment’ in the process of EU integration, he stressed the importance of long-lasting partnerships in ensuring that this process be a continued success.
Four working groups focused on the themes of: transport; health; environment and agriculture; and living and working conditions. These reflected on lessons learned from technical assistance projects to date and on future prospects. The full conference conclusions are available on the conference website at www.emcdda.europa.eu/events/ipa-conference.
(1) See Community agencies.
(2) Candidate countries: Croatia, Turkey and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Potential candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo under UNSC Resolution 1244/99.
(3) See ec.europa.eu/enlargement/how-does-it-work/financial-assistance/instrument-pre-accession_en.htm
(4) European Council, Luxembourg, December 1997; European Council, Thessaloniki, June 2003.
In this issue...
- 2010 priorities and budget
- Management Board: changes at the helm
- EMCDDA and Europol step up information collection on mephedrone
- Guidelines for collecting data on retail drug prices
- Hepatitis C prevalence as a possible indicator of injection-related HIV risk
- Health and prisons in Europe
- Best practice portal: upcoming developments
- European drug prevention quality standards
- Role of Community agencies in EU enlargement process reinforced
- EMCDDA signs accord with Ukrainian Ministry of Health
- New Czech penal code enters into force
- EMCDDA and Canadian partners outline areas for cooperation
- Implementation of the EMCDDA’s five key epidemiological indicators
- Reitox development strategy 2010–15
- Scientific Committee underlines importance of scientific publishing
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Drugnet Europe is the EMCDDA's newsletter launched in September 1996. The newsletter provides regular and succint information on the Centre's projects and activities to a broad readership.
Page last updated: Friday, 12 March 2010